The Family Tree
by LezzyB
Summary: When a close friend of Nick Burkhardt's is murdered, our friendly neighborhood Grimm is dragged into a world of deceit and betrayal, otherwise known as wesen politics. Throughout this process, Nick discovers something new about his bloodline that only manages to give him a massive migraine. To top it all off, he can't help but wonder why his Captain is looking at him like that...
1. Jagerbars Have Friends in High Places

**So, it's finally here. After writing the Psych Shassie fanfiction, Shawn Spencer: Gypsy, we now come to My new Grimm fic, The Family Tree! NickRenard is the best pairing EVER! I adore Nick and Renard. I feel they are a strange couple to write, but I love a challenge! This fic is for my NaNoWriMo challenge, so I do have a LOT more written as of right now, but this is the first chapter and I wanted to see what everyone thought. **

**Well, enough of me rambling about how awesome NickRenard shipping is. ONWARD TO STORYTIME! *claps energetically***

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><p>Nick loved running.<p>

Physically, he loved the feeling of the crisp, morning wind rushing across his face as he breathed. He loved the burn in his muscles as he took that extra stride. The crisp air, the subtle burn, all these things fueled him each and every morning. Mentally, it was the one thing that gave him a sense of normalcy in his hectic new life. He could also go through his thoughts and not be distracted by the complex cacophony of life. Here, outside, he could think freely.

He had discovered a while ago that he was a Grimm. He was thrown into a whole new world that he knew nothing about thanks to his mother's sheltering as well as his aunt's. Nick could hardly believe that creatures lived just beneath the surface of a supposedly normal human being, a wesen. The Grimm laughed at the memory of his first wesen nowadays, but in his laughter he also remembered the fear he'd felt, the fear that he had finally lost it. He was happy that he hadn't.

Right now, there was so much to deal with. He was worried about Hank; the man still seemed shaken up by the fact that not only were the creatures in his childhood nightmares real, but that not all of them wanted to kill him. Hank still seemed afraid with each wesen they came across, wondering if this person would be the nightmare that killed him. It was different with normal humans. With wesen, it was the uncertainty that threw Hank into a state of unease.

He was surprised when Juliette only tried to get him to go to a therapist once before she was able to see her first wesen. After that she took it very well. Nick was immensely grateful that Juliette was there. They had been best friends for so long, and Nick was worried that this "crazy talk," as she originally put it, would get in front of their friendship. Now, however, she only said to him every once in a while, "Of course I'd get stuck with the best friend with superpowers. Do you even know how high maintenance those types of friends are?" He knew she was joking, but he still wondered how much of her jokes were truly just that.

Juliette also helped Hank a lot with dealing with the wesen world. Whatever she learned from Nick, she passed on to Hank in simpler terms. As Nick continued to run, he offhandedly wondered if Juliette was better at handling this because she was a vet, therefore seeing wesen as new animals. It made him laugh slightly, picturing Monroe as a dog.

And then his thoughts turned to his wesen friends. Monroe and Rosalie were another concern of his. Ever since Nick had come literally barging into Monroe's life, Nick felt terrible. Before Renard came along, Nick only had Monroe to lean on when he had a question or he needed a partner other than Hank to handle something. He was eternally grateful to the Blutbad, but he felt he didn't show it enough. Even now, when Monroe and Rosalie had a life of their own, he still barged in whenever he felt it was necessary. In the back of his mind, the more selfish, cowardly part of him thought, _well, it's either them or Renard, and you definitely are more awkward around Renard._

And that's what it all came down to. Captain Sean Renard. Sean Renard, the bastard prince of the Kronenberg House. Lately, Nick's thoughts always came back to this man. He couldn't quite place why he was so obsessed, but it was starting to annoy him. Nick was starting to annoy himself. It sounded crazy – he sounded crazy – and he probably was, but he just couldn't help it. The man was an enigma. It definitely wasn't because he was attracted to his captain. It was because he was a puzzle that Nick couldn't quite figure out. He had played the part of the innocent captain until he felt it was time to reveal to Nick who he actually was. Renard said it was because Nick wasn't prepared enough to accept the fact that there were wesen royal families, councils, and just politics in general within the wesen world, and he was right. When Nick first became a Grimm, he could barely tell the difference between a Blutbad and a Jagerbar. It was quite pathetic. Now? Now he was as fully immersed in wesen culture as a student was immersed when studying abroad. _Except for the fact that I can't leave the country…_ Nick thought as he took his last step into his driveway before stopping his run for the day.

In the house, he heard the telltale ring of his phone. The screen read "Hank," showing that he most likely had work to do. He picked up the phone. "Burkhardt."

"Hey, Nick. Do you know what time it is?"

The detective rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing this, Hank. I will not fall for your childish antics." Nick said, pretending to be pompous.

"Oh come on, Nick. Humor me." Nick could picture his partner grinning over the phone.

He sighed. "Fine." Then, "What time is it, Hank?"

"It's time to get to work!"

As Hank laughed, Nick could only say in disbelief, his voice heavy with sarcasm, "Hilarious, Hank."

"I know." He boasted.

Nick smiled. "I'll see you down at the precinct in a bit."

"See you."

Nick rubbed his eyes tiredly before making his way to the shower. He quickly cleaned his tired body, wondering just who had been killed today. Admittedly, Nick over thought things and right now, in the shower, he couldn't help but wonder if murderers were basically funding his paycheck. He basically made money from people being killed. A voice in his head that sounded strangely like Renard kept repeating that he made money from catching criminals, but he was stubborn. Not even Renard in his gloriously chiseled face could keep him from his occasional overthinking escapades.

Okay, so maybe the real Renard could, but he didn't have him standing in front of him in his shower right now so it didn't matter. As Nick blushed at the thought of his captain naked in the shower with him he forced his thoughts to move to a different topic completely. Still, a nagging part of his mind wondered how much his captain was hiding under that suit and tie.

It wasn't too much longer that Nick was dressed and out the door to the precinct in his truck. He greeted the receptionist politely before he made his way to his desk. "Hey, Hank."

His partner looked up from the folder – probably the case folder – he was reading to say, "You ready to go?"

"Can I read the file first? Geez, Hank. Have too many cups of coffee this morning?"

Hank shook his head and sighed. "Sorry. The captain seems to be having a shit fit over this case. He's pissed about something."

Nick quickly snatched the file from Hank's hand. "Now my interest is peaked."

Though Nick couldn't see it due to his undivided attention being sucked into the case file, Hank grinned a knowing grin. _I don't even know if _he_ knows…_ Hank thought, grin still plastered on his face. However, that grin quickly dropped when his partner slouched down into his chair, rubbing his eyes and looking like he just found out someone had died.

And that was exactly what had happened. "Nick? Do you know the vic?" When no response was given, Hank asked again.

Nick still didn't answer. Instead his eyes clenched shut for a moment before he slammed his fist down on his desk with a shout of, "Fuck!"

At the outburst, however, the windows on Renard's office doors and surrounding areas shattered with a resounding crack as the pieces hit the tile floor. Officers immediately began scrambling to their captain's aid, though the man was already coming out of his office completely unscathed. His eyes immediately fell on Nick, who was staring with wide eyes at the destruction at the taller man's feet. He quickly came to and stood up to make sure he was alright, but his head began to spin as a shooting pain went through it and he had to sit back down. He whimpered slightly, the commotion only making his sudden headache worse.

Renard, meanwhile, seemed to see Nick's sudden turmoil and ordered the other officers to get a cleanup crew to take care of the shattered glass. After assuring his officers that he was fine, he made his way over to Nick, curiosity getting the better of him. There was no mistaking that Nick would take the death of the victim hard, but with a Grimm in the house and an unlucky one at that, it could not be a coincidence that the windows shattered. And, upon seeing his Grimm in the state he was currently in, he was almost certain the detective had something to do with this, though it was probably unknowingly.

In a soft voice, Renard spoke to Nick. "Look up, Nick." Nick obeyed and Renard saw that his nose was bleeding. The captain lifted Nick to his feet, saying, "Let's get you cleaned up in the bathroom. It's probably quieter in there anyways."

Nick just followed, though he was carried more than he stepped on his own. In the bathroom, Nick sighed in slight contentment, the noise level dropping significantly after the door was shut. His captain then picked him up gently and sat him on the counter, then grabbed some paper towels and held them to Nick's nose with one hand, his other gently cradling the man's head. Nick definitely did not yelp when he was picked up.

After his nose had stopped its downpour and his sudden onset migraine had ceased, he asked his captain, who was leaning very close to him while still leaning against the sink counter, "What did I do now?"

Renard blinked. "Nick, I'm not completely certain that you caused this. It was probably just age on the building that finally shattered the glass."

Nick glared. "You don't really believe that, do you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Renard smirked. "You are the only person I've ever met who can read me so well."

"I don't know whether to take that as a jab or a compliment."

The older man chuckled. "Consider it what you will, but I merely made an observation."

Nick nodded, then, changing the subject, "This isn't some new Grimm development, is it? I don't really want to be going around shattering windows whenever my body or mind or whatever feels like it."

Renard considered that. Nick brought up a point that the captain hadn't considered. He would have to look into it further before bringing it up to Nick; he didn't want the man to worry about something that might not even be true. But, to appease the worried Grimm, he gave a half-truth. "Grimms are human. Most – if not all – of their abilities revolve around heightened physical attributes. Breaking windows without throwing something doesn't seem like a power a Grimm – or anyone, for that matter – would have."

Nick nodded. "I know you think this still has something to do with me."

Renard smirked. "Now your people-reading skills are just creepy." Nick could only glare and blush, but before he could retort, Renard said, "But judging by your knack for meeting murderers in a dark alley, you're probably only good at reading me. Other people? Not so much."

Nick laughed. "Thanks, jerk."

Renard leaned close to Nick, loving the way the barely suppressed shiver ran through the smaller man's body. "You're welcome."

Nick swallowed. Renard had been acting weird lately. Ever since the incident where he was almost taken by Baron Samedi, Renard had been doing what he could to stay as close to the detective as possible without smothering him. Not only was he becoming protective, but their friendship had only grown since the attack. It wasn't that Nick didn't like what they've grown to be; in fact he much preferred the friendlier side of Renard. It was just different.

But there were moments – moments like this – that made Nick wonder what the older man's motives were. One moment they were acting like friends who had known each other for years and the next? Well, then they were in moments like they were in now. They were moments that Nick didn't really understand.

As Renard whispered to Nick those two words, the shiver that ran through him as the man's subtle breath reached his cheek made him only want to lean further into his captain.

Nick was well aware of his sexuality. He just didn't broadcast his attraction to men across the station. He didn't hide it, but he didn't boast, either.

Renard wasn't that bad looking, either. If Nick were being completely honest with himself, he would probably say that his captain was a walking Adonis, but he decided to not head down that road and instead keep it completely platonic. He knew Renard wasn't attracted to him and he knew even more the consequences at work that would befall both of them if any semblance of a relationship of any kind started between them. Nick would be transferred and he really didn't want to restart his status as a Grimm in another town. He was just now becoming known as the Grimm that didn't kill all wesen in Portland.

Also, Renard was a Royal and Nick was a Grimm. It wasn't likely that a relationship between them would go over well with the rest of the man's family. It would probably go well for Renard; a unity between a Grimm and a Royal was likely to set the wesen population at ease for a while, seeing it as a truce of sorts. But the rest of his family? Probably not.

But, of course, Nick wouldn't have considered any of these possibilities because Nick had never wondered what it would be like to be with Sean Renard. Nope. He didn't think of his captain that way at all. He didn't think of these things when lying in bed every other night. Not at all.

But, looking into the Royal's eyes with a blush on his face, he kind of really wished he could be.

Nick mentally shook his head. What was he even thinking? He sounded like a stalker! _Ugh… I'm pathetic…_ Nick thought. _I need to get out more…_

Renard's voice broke him from his inner turmoil. "Will you, Nick?"

He blinked. "Huh?" He said eloquently.

Renard let a rare, affectionate smile cross his features. "You are precious, Nick."

He blushed. Any more of that and his face would permanently be red. "S-sorry."

Renard shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I merely asked if you could do me a privilege."

Nick's head tilted slightly to the right in confusion. "What 'privilege' are you talking about? Because the last time you asked me for a favor I about died."

Renard glared this time. "It was a complete accident. I did not know the other Blutbad pack was involved."

Nick laughed. "It's fine, it's fine. Really. What is it you need me to do?"

Inwardly Renard was reveling in the fact that his Grimm was willing to do what he asked of him without reason. Renard needed that kind of control. He needed that kind of power. To hear that Nick was giving him that power so willingly temporarily sated the inner Royal that wanted to force Nick to submit to him.

"I need you to come with me to an event of sorts. It's something the wesen community does every year. All the wesen in each territory come to a formal gathering on what is known as the 'Day of Truce' formal. And yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. Wesen families and species alike come to this formal and put aside their differences for one night to show a unity in the wesen world."

Nick looked a little hesitant. "Does this 'Day of Truce' actually help in any way? I would think that it would only give fighting species an excuse to spit words at each other…"

Renard nodded. "It's completely understandable to think that way, but you've never been to a Day of Truce formal. It is very different. It is more common for arguments to be settled on this day than it is for them to be embedded deeper."

Nick, still a little worried, asked, "Are you sure it would be okay for me to go? I mean, a Grimm at this thing might change the game."

"Like I said, this is different from human truces and ceasefires. Everyone is invited, including the Grimms. One of the reasons I'm asking you to come with me is because a Grimm has never come to the Day of Truce formal since it was established. They haven't exactly condoned it. Most of the Grimms would rather the wesen kill themselves in fights than shake hands in agreement. It means less wesen for them to kill."

Nick looked away. _My ancestors really were awful people._ Shaking his head, he looked at Renard again and asked, "What were your other reasons for asking me to go with you?"

The older man smirked. "That, my dear Grimm, is my secret to tell at a later date."

Nick flushed at the term of endearment. Renard was turning him into a teenaged girl. Trying to ignore his burning cheeks, he asked with a sigh, "When is it, where do I need to be, and what do I need to wear? Please tell me I don't have to wear a suit…"

Renard smirked. "Oh, come on Nick. It's only for one night, and I imagine you'll look absolutely stunning."

_I think I'm just going to assume that I am a teenaged girl,_ Nick thought as Renard made the redness in his cheeks return once more. "Thanks."

"And to answer your questions, it's tomorrow night and I'll pick you up at your front door."

Nick nodded. "Alright then. I'll go with you. Besides, it'll be interesting to see a Klaustreich and a Seltenvogel getting along in civil conversation for once."

Renard laughed. Nick reveled in the sound. "Well, let's get back to work. I'm not certain if you've heard, but there is a bet going around about us, and I don't want people getting any ideas."

"A bet?" Nick asked.

"Ask your partner."

"Now I'm terrified."

Renard held the door open for Nick, who braced himself, not sure if his splitting headache would return. When it didn't, he started his walk towards his desk. Before he completely left, he said, "Thank you, captain, for inviting me to this. I know everyone is welcome, but I don't want all Grimms to be seen as stuck up assholes. Besides," Nick smirked. "That's the Royals' job."

Renard smiled. "I'm certain I live up to those expectations."

"You live up to a lot more than you think, Captain."

"You're not planning on calling me 'Captain' at the Day of Truce formal, are you?" Before Nick could answer, Renard said, "You can call me Sean. It won't hurt to be a little less formal with each other, at least when we're not at work."

Nick snickered. "Isn't this a Day of Truce _formal,_ though?"

"Go to your desk, detective." He deadpanned.

"Come on. That, you have to admit, was funny."

"You're as bad as your partner." Renard scolded.

"You know you love me." Nick said, feigning conceit.

_More than you know,_ he thought. "Good luck with this case." He said. When Nick's smile dropped, he said, "I'm sorry you have to go through this. I understand that you knew him."

Nick forced a smile. "I'm okay. This is my job. I'll catch whoever did this."

Renard nodded. Then, in a rare awkward moment for him, he said, "If you ever need someone, I will be there for you at a moment's notice."

This time his smile was genuine. "Thank you."

At that, they parted ways. Nick grabbed Hank and headed to the crime scene while Renard went to his office to call an order for new windows and to research as much as he could on whatever Nick did to said windows. He just hoped it wasn't what he was thinking. He hoped, for once, that he was wrong.

In the car with Hank, meanwhile, Nick had finally come to the shocking realization that Sean Renard had just asked him on a date.

Nick braced himself as he got out of the passenger side of the vehicle. Frank Rabe was a good friend of his. Even after he had put his wife in prison, Frank still wanted to help him with as much as he could, saying that Nick was a different kind of Grimm. Even Barry had warmed up to Nick in his own way. Now Nick was here to solve the kid's father's murder. Barry would never go near him again.

Hank's voice broke him out of his depressing thoughts. "Now I remember being here. We solved this case together a while back. The case with the guy's wife and kid, right?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, and they were all Jagerbars. I stayed in contact with Frank and Barry. They wanted to help me, and now Frank is dead. The kid has lost two parents in the span of a few months. I'm sure he's not taking this well."

Hank nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, Nick. This is probably hitting you hard, too. Maybe you should stay out of this. Besides, personal involvement doesn't exactly give you a clear head when trying to solve a case."

Nick shook his head. "I'm fine. I'll make sure I catch who did this." He muttered darkly.

"Then let's go see the crime scene."

The moment they walked through the large front doors to the immaculate Rabe house, Nick knew something was off. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his gut coiled, sensing danger. Whatever Nick was walking into was not going to be good.

And he was right. In the living room, things were destroyed and tossed all over the room, signs of a serious struggle. At the end of the hall, however, was Frank Rabe, his body shredded by what Nick guessed were claw marks. Blood was all over the surrounding pictures and walls. Nick had to look away for a moment, but when he did, he noticed something within the blood spatter on the wall. It was lettering, and Nick shuddered when he read it a second time:

**He's dead because of you, Nick Burkhardt. Grimms should never associate with wesen.**

"Hank, forensics should have got this, right?"

"No, they're on their way. We're the responding officers. What is it?" Hank looked at the wall too, eyes widening as he looked to his partner in worry. "Nick, they are going to take you off the case whether you want them to or not. This is a direct attack against you!"

Nick really didn't care at this point. Right now all he was thinking about was how he was going to explain to Barry that his father died because some crazy murderer wanted to get at him. "This is my fault." Nick whispered.

Hank's expression immediately softened. His partner was prone to taking things this way. Nick could be a hardass, but he was the kindest detective they had. He had seen so much death and anger and insanity, but he still looked for the innate goodness in people that most others by now would think never existed. Everyone in the precinct considered Nick the 'child of the Portland PD,' though Nick had no idea. They protected Nick just a little bit more than anyone else. He was special in his own way, bringing a light to the department that they hadn't seen before. "No, Nick. Don't think like that. You could never have guessed this would have happened. Whatever happened here was an attack against you, not because of you."

Nick nodded, though he didn't really believe it. "I've got to find Barry."

"He's in school right now, but I already called an officer to pull him out."

At that, Hank's radio went off, telling Nick that Barry was outside. "I'll go talk to him. He'll at least want to hear it from a more familiar face."

"Alright, Nick."

Nick braced himself when Barry ran up to him. What he didn't expect was a hug. "Barry?"

"Nick," he whispered. "Promise me something."

Nick nodded. "Anything."

"Promise me you'll catch the bastards that did this."

Nick was shocked. "I will, Barry. I promise. But do you know of anyone specific that would've had a grudge against him? It would have to be someone who hated the idea of you working with me."

"Are you certain that's the reason they…" He swallowed deeply. This was his father who had died. No matter how level-headed the kid was on the outside, he was probably inwardly suffering. In fact, Nick was certain he had to be in some sort of emotional pain. "Are you sure that's the reason they killed my father?"

Nick nodded his affirmation. "There was a note."

Barry nodded in return. "We knew this would happen eventually. It comes with the territory of working with Grimms with enemies in high places."

Nick's eyes widened. "Why didn't you stop? Why didn't you tell me to go away, or at least tell me you were in danger?"

Barry looked at Nick. "It would have tipped them off that we were on to them. Nick, there's something going on, something huge. I don't know if it's a good idea to talk here, but I've seen enough movies to know what would happen if I told you to meet in another place."

Only Barry could laugh at his own jokes when his father was dead.

Nick nodded. "Who were you two researching? Why didn't you tell me about any of it?"

Barry pulled Nick away from the other cop. "To answer the easier question first, we didn't tell you because, like I said, they would catch on to us. This was very important to us. We wanted to help you. I still want to help you."

Nick felt tears start to form. His father had died for him, and Barry still wanted to help him. "No, I can't ask that of you. Not now."

Barry smiled. "If there's one good thing I learned from my mom, it's that Jagerbars always help their pack members, and you are pack, Nick."

"B-but your father…"

"Death is a part of life. Crying over death isn't a part of a Jagerbar's culture, I guess. We more or less celebrate and get wasted."

Nick laughed through the overwhelming emotions that were coursing through him. He had lost a good friend, but Barry still wanted to help him. "But what did you figure out?"

"You've heard of the Day of Truce formal, right?"

Nick withheld a blush, remembering who he was going with. "Yeah. It's tomorrow."

"Nick, The Kronenberg Royal Family is coming to Portland. I'm not even sure if the Royal Prince of Portland knows his family is coming, either."

Nick thought about that. Renard hadn't said anything about it. Maybe he didn't know? "What's the big deal? It's a Day of Truce. They can't really do anything."

"Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that someone would stop a Royal from doing whatever they wanted? They are the most powerful family on the planet, and not just because they've been in power since the beginning of wesen times."

Nick was confused. "Royals are wesen?"

Barry nodded. "A lot of people think the Royals are humans, but they're not. They're another race of wesen, and the most powerful race, too."

Nick nodded. "So how do you know they are going to attack the formal?"

Barry pulled a flashdrive; a small, wooden box; and a CD from his pocket. "Please. I know you are friends with the Prince. I can smell him on you." Nick blushed, but let him continue. "Give these to him. He will want proof that his family is actually coming to Portland."

Nick nodded. "Thank you, Barry. I never wanted your father to sacrifice himself for this, but I hope he knows that he's probably just saved a bunch of lives for this."

Barry smiled. "That's why we do this, you know. You don't see wesen and humans as wesen and humans. They are all the same to you. They are lives with meaning in your eyes. To my father, that was a big deal. No Grimm has ever been like that."

Nick nodded, taking that to heart. "Thank you, Barry."

"Thank me by taking that to the Prince."

"I will."

They started to walk to the house, but Barry had one last comment to make before they entered the house. "For the record, Nick, you and the Prince will make the perfect rulers. A majority of wesen are loyal to the Prince already, but when you join him on the throne I don't think a single wesen will stand against you."

Nick was genuinely confused by this and it showed on his expression. "Barry, what are you talking about?"

Barry laughed, obviously sensing the wrong reason for Nick's confusion. "Nick, wesen all around the world have heard of you. They are waiting to see what you will do next. You add a kind of spontaneity to our world that we haven't really experienced before. You also add a new meaning to the word 'Grimm.' There are already stories being told about you and how you're some kind of revolutionary sent to destroy the old ways of the Grimms and bring about a new era of arbitrator Grimms."

Nick laughed at that. It felt good to laugh through this. "I'm not sure about me being some great revolutionary, but what does that have to do with me 'taking the throne' or whatever?"

Barry's eyes widened in fear. "Holy shit. You don't know, do you?"

Nick's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What don't I know?"

Hank's call broke through the sudden tension between them. "Nick! Get in here."

It took them several hours to fully investigate the scene and, of course, Nick was asked to go with another pair of detectives to the station for questions surrounding the note on the wall. Nick mostly told the truth. He said he knew the Rabe family after a case he and his partner worked on previously, as well as admitted to becoming quick friends with the family. Nick, of course, lied when he said he didn't know what a Grimm or a wesen was, and they let him go, but not before telling him that he should consider the witness protection program. Nick inwardly laughed at that, knowing that he wouldn't be safe no matter where he was. If Royals were looking for him, they would find him.

The moment he was let out of the interrogation room, he almost ran to the captain's office. Renard seemed surprised to see him there.

"Nick, what's the matter?"

Nick walked closer so that he would be able to whisper. "Barry Rabe told me to give these to you. He said that your family is coming to Portland. His father died trying to get these to me."

Renard eyed the items Nick had placed in front of him suspiciously. "That is a very large accusation. I would have heard about this, Nick. Are you sure he is telling the truth?"

Nick smirked. Barry was right. "That's why they got you proof."

Renard nodded. "Well, we can't very well be looking at these in an office with broken windows, now can we?"

Nick blinked. "This is about your family. I don't have to be here if you don't want me to."

"Nick, you are a detective. You would probably go crazy if I didn't show you what was on this CD."

Nick ignored the comment and followed Renard to an interrogation room. "Funny how I was just in here."

"Were you investigating a suspect already?"

Nick shook his head. "Apparently I'm considered a possible suspect or a potential victim, considering whoever killed Frank Rabe wrote on the wall that it's my fault he died and that Grimms shouldn't associate with wesen."

Renard growled deep in his throat. Someone was going after _his_ Grimm? He would tear them apart before they even got close. On top of that, there was intel that his family was coming to Portland. This couldn't be a coincidence.

Opening his laptop that he brought with him, he inserted the disc and connected the flash drive. First, he played the audio file on the CD. What was on it confirmed what Nick and the Rabes had been saying.

_"You failed to capture the Grimm, Viktor." _

Renard knew that voice.

_"I'm sorry, my King. I will not fail you again." _

Viktor was there, too. His cousin was an annoying prick, to say the least.

_"No, you won't. What is that saying again? Oh, right. If you want something done right, do it yourself."_ Renard heard a sigh. _"Viktor, tell Natalia and Shane to pack their things. Looks like we're going to Portland."_

The CD stopped playing then.

"Captain, who were those people? I recognized Viktor, but who was the other man? And who are Natalia and Shane?"

Renard sighed. "Let me look at the flash drive and I'll explain."

Nick nodded and Renard opened the files. Each file had a different name and, to Nick's horror, he knew every one of them. "It's a hit list! They're going after the wesen that I know!"

Renard grabbed Nick's arm before he could run off. Nick glared menacingly, but Renard ignored it and spoke anyways. "Nick, I only have time to tell you this once and I need you to listen. Natalia and Shane Renard are my siblings. The other man speaking? That was King Frederick Renard. He's my father."

Nick's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"No, Nick. They're coming here and they're after you."

Nick shook his head. "I don't care about that!"

Renard glared, a growl deep in his throat. Nick held his own. "Nick, they're trying to kidnap you for who knows what! Do you even value your own life?"

"Not when it's putting my friends at risk! These people are those I consider family!"

"I can't let you go around Portland knowing there's another person who wishes to take you."

"Why?" Nick asked. "Why do you care so much?"

Renard tried to ignore it, but he could hear the walls around them shaking and heard the cracks forming in the glass of the tinted glass. "They tried to take you once and for some reason my father wants you for some purpose. I can't lose you again, Nick. You mean too much to me." He admitted.

"Then come with me. Please. I have to save the next person. I can't let another one die because of this."

Renard considered this. He would not allow Nick to get hurt. Every major part of him was telling him to lock Nick up until he could figure something out, but a smaller part told him that his Mate was asking him to do something and that he wanted to please his Mate, so Renard nodded. "If something happens, I won't hesitate to drag you out of there."

Nick glared. "I'll fight you. I won't let whoever is next die because you're too scared to lose me for some reason."

Renard smiled sadly. "I know."

"And Renard?"

"Hmm?"

Nick pointed between the two of them. "Whatever this is between us, you'd better explain to me later."

Renard nodded. "I will."

Nick looked at the computer screen. "Who is the next name?"

Renard opened the file that had the list. Nick braced himself, hoping whoever was next wasn't already dead.

The moment Nick saw the name he was running to his car. Renard quickly closed his laptop and followed. He had so many questions. How did Frank and Barry Rabe figure out what his best spies could not? They obviously had an inside source. Whoever it was he would have to thank. He would also be paying a visit to Barry Rabe to personally thank him for his services. The kid deserved it. He had, after all, led him to an attack against his Mate.

Now? Now he was going to save his Mate's family. Deep down, however, he had a feeling Mrs. Rosalie Monroe was fine. That Blutbad of hers wasn't likely to let her or himself go down that easily.

But it's better to be safe than sorry.

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><p><strong>I got nervous when I posted the first chapter of my last story, so of course I'm going to be nervous to post this one, too. I hope you guys like it!<strong>


	2. Renard is a Total Jackass

**I enjoyed writing this chapter! It was super fun and exciting and domestic and all sorts of fluffy goodness. **

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><p>Nick practically hit the curb when he came to a screeching halt outside of Monroe's house where Rosalie and he lived together. Nick ran up to the door, noting Renard was close behind him. Nick knocked, hoping nothing was wrong and Monroe would answer with his usual annoyance, but when he saw that the door was slightly ajar he immediately ran in.<p>

It was quite a sight. Two Mauvais Dentes were poised, ready to attack a fully wolfed-out Monroe, who was standing protectively in front of a woged Rosalie. She had a few scratches on her, but she was mostly unharmed. In the corner of the room was a third Mauvais Dentes, passed out and bleeding from a particularly vicious head wound.

Nick immediately sprang into action when one of the Royal assassins jumped at Monroe. The Grimm tackled the wesen to the ground, ready for a death match. This was his family. He would either win this or die trying. He soon felt his Grimm instincts take over, then he prepared himself to attack again.

It seemed Renard was the only one who noticed the window that shattered of its own accord.

Renard couldn't ponder it much more, however, because he was launched into a fight with the other Mauvais Dentes. The creature knew exactly who and what he was, so it was noticeably scared. He quickly and easily subdued the wesen with one well-landed right hook to the face that had the creature dropping to the ground. He was significantly stronger, so a blow like that would most likely break bones. In fact, judging by the crack he felt under his fist, he was certain he had broken something in the wesen's face.

Renard turned to see if his Mate was alright and, sure enough, he was fine, having already taken down the other assassin as well. The Grimm before him stood proud, his eyes having a slight silver gleam to them, showing that the human was not in the forefront, rather, the Grimm was in control. Renard could feel the power radiating from him, a power that would have most wesen cowering, but not Renard. The Royal's eyes shifted slightly, bringing their bright green hue to the surface.

The Grimm stared at him for a moment, assessing him. His human half was trying to say that he was not a threat, but he already knew that. The Grimm knew exactly who this Royal was to him. His human half, however, did not seem to understand this man was the one being that would protect him with everything he was. His human half understood something was there, but he didn't know much else. It was frustrating to know his human half was so dense.

When the Grimm felt there was no longer a threat, the silver faded into a normal gray, revealing the Nick they had come to know once more.

Meanwhile, Monroe and Rosalie felt like they had just watched something that was way too private to be happening in their living room.

Nick turned to Rosalie, a panicked expression clear on his face. "Rosalie, are you hurt? I'm so sorry we didn't get here sooner."

Rosalie smiled. "I'm a little scratched, but other than that, I think Monroe took more collateral than I did."

Monroe just growled. "Nick, what happened? How did you know to come here?"

Renard then made his appearance known. "You both must understand the consequences of your actions if what we tell you gets out to the public."

Monroe and Rosalie's eyes widened, just now coming to the full realization that the Prince was here. "Yes, sir."

Renard, ignoring Nick's glare that obviously said he wasn't happy about him scaring his friends, said, "Good."

They decided to talk in the kitchen, knowing that it was a little morbid to be talking with three possibly dead creatures in the living room. Nick explained everything he knew so far. He explained about the Royal family coming to Portland on the Day of Truce formal to the murder of Frank Rabe.

"Jesus, Nick. This is huge! Portland will become a warzone if something isn't done. If they try to take the territory all Hell will break loose." Monroe turned to Renard. "Rest assured, your Majesty. We will always be loyal to you. Plus, if you don't mind me being frank," he laughed nervously. "We actually like you. Most wesen in Portland do. But, Rosalie and I have been in some other territories before and man, it's bad."

Renard just nodded and Nick felt strange about the formalities Monroe was showing his captain. "I don't think I'll ever get used to you being royalty, Sean."

Renard smirked at Nick's casual use of his name. He knew only Nick would have that privilege. "You will. I'm certain of it."

Nick wasn't sure why, but he blushed anyways.

Once again, Monroe and Rosalie felt like they were watching something that was supposed to be private.

Renard spoke again, "I will make a call to have the bodies disposed of. I personally apologize for whatever turmoil my family has caused here. I will see to it that all of your things are replaced."

Monroe shook his head. "No, No, sir. We should be thanking you. You didn't have to come here with Nick, but you did. Thank you."

Renard nodded, thinking in his mind that yes, he did have to come here with Nick, then pulled out his phone and walked into the living room. Monroe then turned his head to Nick. "I knew you and the Prince were friends, but it's generally a rule not to call a Royal by their first name. How'd you manage that one?" Of course, Monroe knew that Nick was Renard's Mate, but he had to ask without actually asking how much Nick knew of the situation.

"He asked me to call him Sean when we aren't at work. Why? Is that not a thing?"

_Okay, Nick's clueless,_ Monroe thought with an inward chuckle. "No. It's not, but don't worry about it. He must be having a very good day."

Nick's brow furrowed. "I don't know. He's been acting weird. Lately he's been very overprotective. It's not a bad kind of overprotective, but it's just not the norm for him. I'm also going to this Day of Truce formal with him, which was kind of out of the blue."

"Do you not want to go with him?" Rosalie asked.

"No, I do!" Nick blushed at his quick response, but continued. "I just… I don't know. It's like there's something I should know but I don't."

Monroe and Rosalie wore matching smirks. "Don't worry, Nick," Monroe said, patting him on the back, "You'll figure it out."

Nick was just about to ask what he was supposed to be figuring out when Renard walked back into the room. "They'll be here shortly to clean up the bodies. I'm surprised your neighbors didn't say anything."

Monroe scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "They usually don't. With as much noise as there is over here, what with Nick bringing his Grimm fanclub here all the time, they usually don't make a fuss when they hear a noise." He lightly punched Nick in the shoulder, said Grimm glaring at his Blutbad companion.

"Hey, they're not my 'fanclub' or whatever…" Nick pouted. Monroe was not convinced.

Renard and Nick left shortly after that, but not before Nick told them to watch their backs. Before Nick could get into the driver's side, however, Renard took his keys from his hand. "Hey!"

"You are never driving again. You nearly killed us."

Nick huffed. "I was worried."

"Get in the passenger side."

"Unlike those two in there, I don't have to listen to you. Which, by the way, you were kind of an asshole by making them act all formal and call you 'your Majesty.' You wouldn't kill them if they were a little informal with you, so why bother?"

Renard pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not want to explain wesen political norms in a Blutbad and a Fuchsbau's driveway. _At least Nick is keeping you on your toes…_ "First, _Detective Burkhardt_, you do have to listen to me. I am your captain. Or did you forget that?" Renard smirked to show that he was only joking and Nick caught on.

"Oh, yes. I understand completely, Captain Renard. I'll remember that at the formal."

Renard glared. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were inherently evil, what with that attitude."

Nick smirked. "You like my attitude, and I am not evil. I am totally innocent." He added some eyelash fluttering to prove his point.

"And I'm the Pope. Now get in the passenger seat."

"Yes, Pope Sean Renard." Nick laughed at Renard's expression before climbing into the vehicle. As they drove, Nick couldn't help but ask, "So why do the wesen all fear you and butter you up with fancy talk?"

"Your formality astounds me." Renard deadpanned.

"I'm serious!" He said. "I want to know why wesen have to treat you like a king in the Dark Ages."

Renard nodded. "It's more out of respect for me than anything else, Nick. I do admit that most wesen hold a certain fear of me, however."

"Why? Why would a ruler want to be feared?"

"Think about it this way, Nick. If wesen weren't afraid of me, how many of them would try to remove me from my position?"

Nick thought about that. "I'm sure there's a few."

"There are a lot more than you think. A lot of wesen do not like having the Royals around. They want a free territory."

"Is that really so bad, having a free territory?"

Renard shook his head. "It's not what you think, Nick. If there is no one to enforce the law, then people will break it. You should know that better than most."

Nick nodded, everything falling into place. Then, "Should I be afraid of you? Because I don't see you as a Royal. I see you as, well, you." Nick blushed when he realized what he'd said.

"Who am I, then?" Renard asked, genuinely curious as to what the Grimm thought of him.

Nick continued. "You're Sean Renard. You're a man who works hard to protect every person in your territory, human or wesen, but you're also just that. You're a man. You have limitations. Sure your limits might be higher than most, but they are still there. You have likes and dislikes. You like your coffee black and seem to cringe whenever someone puts anything close to a sweetener in it. You don't trust easy, but you like people. You get irritated when things aren't sorted the right way. Though you don't show it, you find a lot of stupid jokes to be funny. I could probably go on longer, but now I realize how creepy I sound and should stop." He mumbled the last part.

Renard was shocked, to say the least. "I… I never knew you noticed that much about me, Nick."

Nick blushed. "I pay attention to certain things because you're my friend, aren't you?"

_You are so much more to me than a mere friend, Nick Burkhardt._ "Something like that."

They drove back to the precinct. By then it well past sundown. Getting out of the car, Nick stopped Renard. "You still owe me an explanation."

Renard nodded slowly. "I will tell you everything, but not here. I would feel more comfortable in a place I know. Follow me in your car and we will go to my apartment."

Nick blushed but nodded. Renard reveled in his crimson cheeks. Soon, they were on their way to Renard's apartment. As Nick pulled up to the place it didn't look like much on the outside, but when he walked inside he knew that the apartment was well suited for a Royal.

Strangely enough, Nick didn't feel out of place there. He felt like he had come home.

Renard took his and Nick's coat and hung them in the coat closet. He braced himself before turning to Nick, who was scanning his apartment, gray eyes bouncing to each significant object he could see. "It's really nice in here, Sean. You have a nice place."

The Royal hummed in contentment. His Mate approved. "Thank you, Nick." He said politely, then motioned to his couch. "I don't know how long this will take, so we might as well sit."

Nick nodded and followed suit. "So…"

"I'm just going to tell you, Nick. Do you know what a Mate Bond is?"

Nick nodded. "Some wesen have them. It's like a soul mate in all those cheesy romance novels Wu reads in his free time."

Renard laughed. "And that's true. Royals are wesen that have Mates as well."

"Okay, so what does that have to do with… Oh." Nick's eyes widened in realization. Renard laughed at the look. "Me?"

"Yeah, Nick. You're my Mate." Renard tried not to show it, but he was nervous. This was his big reveal, and he wasn't sure how his Mate was taking the news quite yet.

And then, Nick asked a question that completely shattered the nervous tension. "Don't you think that's a little weird? Because I've always thought the idea of Mates was weird. I mean, I don't know how it is for Royals, but don't you want to have a choice?"

Renard laughed. It was a whole body-shaking laugh that had Nick glaring at him, albeit halfheartedly, but he answered with, "Nick, out of all the things I was expecting to come from you, 'Mates are weird' was not one of them."

Nick blushed. "I'm trying to be serious! Do you have a choice? Do I have a choice?"

Renard's expression softened. "I do not have a choice in the matter, but you do. You can choose to accept or deny the Bond. And before you say anything, I have never minded knowing that once I found my Mate I would not have a choice. It is just the way a Royal's instincts are."

Somehow, Nick and Renard had ended up slowly moving closer and closer to each other on the couch. Now their legs were touching. Renard sat normally on the couch, one leg folded over the other while Nick sat cross-legged on the couch, his body turned towards Renard.

The tension seemed to slowly return as Nick chose his next words carefully. "So what would happen if I denied the Bond?"

"I would let you go. It's that simple." He didn't bring up the fact that he would never feel whole again, how he would spend the rest of his days thinking of Nick until he died of, quite literally, a broken heart.

"And, if I accepted the Bond?" He asked slowly, a blush staining his cheeks.

"Then I would ask if I could kiss you."

Nick mumbled something that Renard couldn't hear.

"What was that, Nick?"

"I said to ask your question."

Renard's mouth was slightly open, pure shock and sudden need coursing through him. "Can I kiss you, Nick?"

Nick looked up at Renard, a soft, shy smile gracing his features. "Y-Yeah."

Renard gently cradled Nick's cheek in his hand, his thumb ghosting over his bottom lip. The Grimm's breath was slow and steady, though it was picking up its pace as well as his heartbeat. His cheeks had that crimson tint that Renard adored and, with his hand on his cheek, he could feel the warmth radiating from it. Soon, Nick's eyes were closed and shortly thereafter so were Renard's as he slowly closed the distance between their lips.

It was nothing either of them had ever dreamed of. It was so much better.

Nick slid easily onto Renard's lap soon after their lips met so that they wouldn't be at such an uncomfortable angle. He straddled the man's hips, never breaking the delicious contact. When Renard's tongue asked for entrance, he obliged with a low moan. There wasn't even a fight for dominance. Nick knew who was in control of this and he wasn't even the slightest bit worried knowing that it wasn't him. He trusted Renard to not go too far.

Nick tasted like nothing the Royal had ever tasted before. It was heady and all Nick, nothing else. It was just so easy to kiss the Grimm, and his reactions to his various touches were wonderful. When Renard would move his tongue a certain way, Nick would give a soft, low moan. When he squeezed his slender hips just a little too hard, Nick would moan just a little bit louder, pulling at Renard's short strands of hair just a little bit harder.

Renard's hands moved their way slowly to Nick's ass as he nipped at Nick's lower lip. Slowly he moved his lips down Nick's jaw and neck, said Grimm exposing his neck willingly so that he could have better access. Renard could feel the Royal just beneath the surface. His overwhelming need to mark Nick as his and his alone was strong, but he resisted. He forced the growing fangs to recede and instead opted to leave one hell of a different kind of mark just above the normal collar of his shirt so that everyone could see that Nick belonged to someone else, to him. Nick seemed to appreciate this along with the firm ministrations on his ass because he moaned loudly. "Sean!"

Renard loved that Nick was so vocal.

Nick was panting when Renard returned to his lips. He leaned in closer to Renard, feeling his erection within his suit pants. Nick was sporting his own erection in his jeans and, if they didn't break this off soon, they probably wouldn't stop.

Nick honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to stop at this point.

Renard was the one to pull away. Nick whimpered at the loss, but slowly opened his eyes to a smiling Royal. Nick returned it with a shy smile.

The Grimm reluctantly slid off the Royal's lap, choosing instead to lean into his side while Renard put a protective arm around his shoulders. Renard placed a kiss on the top of Nick's hair, noting his scent. "You are perfect, Nick."

Nick laughed softly. "I thought I was your detective."

"You are. You're mine."

Nick shivered at the obvious possessive tone, but said nothing else. Renard switched on the television and tried to find something for them both to watch. He decided on some random sitcom, but by the time he had chosen an acceptable channel, Nick was curled up into his side, fast asleep.

He knew he should probably wake Nick up; the smaller man had work tomorrow and he didn't have a change of clothes here, but he wasn't quite ready to send him home. His apartment was filled with the scent of his Mate and a very prominent, selfish part of him wanted to keep that scent in his territory for as long as possible. So, slowly he moved to pick Nick up and carry him to his bed.

He gently laid Nick on the mattress and covered him up with the blanket. He sat on the side of the bed for a while, just watching over his Mate. He looked so peaceful. Usually he looked as if he had million things going through his head at one time, yet still managing to keep a constant positive energy around him that everyone at the station loved about their youngest detective. Nick was far from innocent and naïve, but he had this outlook on life and people that he shouldn't have, especially with what he has seen. That was one of the many things that drew Renard to him.

Leaning down, he gently kissed his sleeping mate on the lips before getting up and walking to the spare bedroom. As much as he wanted to, it would be inappropriate to sleep in bed with Nick.

He changed and crawled into bed, quickly falling into the best sleep he's had in his life.

Like every night since he met the Grimm, he dreamt of Nick.

Nick woke to someone gently shaking him awake. He opened his eyes slowly to see who it was and just as he recognized the face, the entire night came back to him and he smiled sleepily. Renard returned it with a subtle smile of his own before saying, "I'm pretty sure you would want a shower, so I thought I should wake you up."

Nick stretched his body out in such a way that had his Mate wondering just how flexible he really was. When Nick relaxed he looked at Renard and said, "Yeah, you're right. I should take a shower, but I don't have a change of clothes here."

"I can take yours and wash them."

Renard showed Nick to the bathroom, saying that he should put his clothes outside of the door before getting in the shower. Nick did just that and let the soothing, warm water wash over him as he thought about last night. He and Renard should probably talk about how this was going to work. He didn't want to leave. That wasn't even an option for him. It scared him how quickly his feelings grew for Renard but, then again, he was pretty sure he had these feelings for a lot longer.

But they still needed to talk about this, especially since Renard was his boss. When he got out of the shower he dried himself off as much as he could, then looked to see if his clothes were done. He opened the door slightly and saw a shirt and sweatpants that were obviously too big for him. They must be Sean's. On top of the pile was a note that said he could wear these while he waits for his clothes to dry.

Nick changed, laughing slightly at how heavily the clothes hung off him. The shirt was a short sleeve shirt, but it came down to his elbows at least. He had to pull the string on the sweatpants as far as it would go so they'd even remotely go around slender waist without falling down. He knew that Renard was taller than him, but the way the ends of the pants dragged on the floor made Nick feel even smaller than he already felt compared to Renard.

Not that Nick minded. He kind of liked that Renard was bigger than him.

The detective walked out into the living room where he didn't immediately spot Renard. "Sean?"

"I'm in the kitchen."

Nick turned and what he saw was slightly confusing at first, but then made him burst out laughing. "How long have you been staring at those eggs, Sean?" Nick asked between gasps.

"I do not know what you are talking about."

Nick walked over and took the cooking utensils away from his Mate. "Do you not know how to cook?"

Nick was shocked to see Renard blushing. "It is not a skill that I have acquired, no."

Nick smiled. "How come, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I can easily hire someone to cook for me. I have never needed to learn this."

He chuckled. "Okay, Mr. Prince. Why don't you stay as far away from the kitchen as possible while I cook something for the both of us?"

"You know how to cook?" Renard was confused, like cooking was the strangest skill to have on the planet.

Nick laughed as he gathered some ingredients. "Yes, most of us common folk know how to cook."

Renard turned Nick sharply, forcing the surprised Grimm to face him. "You, Nick, are anything but 'common.'" He then claimed Nick's lips by arching Nick's neck up to meet his lips. Nick had to stand on his toes while Renard leaned down to meet him halfway. God, he would never get enough of this. "You look absolutely perfect in my clothes, you know." He said when they pulled apart for a second to breathe before returning to their previous position.

When they pulled apart for the final time, Nick was slightly breathless. It took him a minute to recover, but when he did, he said, "I need to make eggs and you keep distracting me."

Renard laughed. "Where did you learn to cook, Nick? Did your aunt teach you?"

Nick snorted. "Aunt Marie wasn't around long enough to teach me anything. I taught myself."

Renard glowered. "What do you mean she wasn't around?"

"I know now why she was never at the house, being a Grimm and all, but – and maybe I'm just being selfish – but when my parents supposedly died in that crash I was devastated, and she was never there. I had to learn to deal with it on my own. I had to learn a lot of things on my own. Cooking just happened to be one of them. She would hand me money before she left to wherever and I would take it to buy groceries to cook with."

Renard growled low in his throat, hating that Nick was raised in such a lonely environment. "It is not selfish that you wanted comfort from the only family you had left after such a devastating tragedy. Don't ever think that again, Nick."

Nick smiled sadly. "It's fine." Then, wanting to change the subject, Nick said, "Now let me start these damn eggs. Stop distracting me!"

"Yes, oh glorious God of Eggs." Renard smirked. Nick threw the nearest rag at him, to which he dodged with a laugh. "Show me, oh glorious one, how to cook eggs."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Come over here, Jackass."

For the next few moments, Nick showed Renard how to make scrambled and sunny-side up eggs. It was one of the strangest moments Nick had ever experienced. He never thought he'd be dating his boss, let alone standing in his kitchen showing him how to cook eggs.

Nevertheless, this was one of his favorite moments.

As they sat down at the table to eat, Nick noticed something sitting on the table. It was the wooden box that Barry gave him yesterday.

Through a mouthful of eggs, Nick asked, "Did we ever open that?"

Renard looked at the box, ignoring Nick's table manners or lack thereof. "No, we didn't. We were in a rush to save Miss Calvert."

"I think it's Mrs. Monroe now." Nick's brow furrowed, not used to Rosalie's last name change. "That's so weird." He shook his head.

Nick took the box and started to open it, but Renard stopped him. "It could be dangerous."

Nick snorted. "It's a box that Barry gave me. He wouldn't hand me something that was even potentially dangerous without telling me first." He continued to open the box and what he saw caused his eyebrows to shoot towards his hairline.

"What is it?"

Nick just handed the box to him and inside was something that Renard never thought he'd see.

There, in that box, were six of the seven keys that the Royal family held.

"Are they all there?" Nick asked.

Renard had to pause a moment to compose himself. "Yes. All but yours."

Nick nodded. "Holy shit."

"Nick, what kinds of friends did your Jagerbar friend have?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't even know he was doing all of this for me until after he was murdered."

"We have to hide these somewhere. We can't let anyone take them."

"Well, I'm not stowing them at someone's house. This is dangerous cargo. The only place we can hide them is in the trailer."

Renard nodded. "I will let you take them there, then."

Nick tilted his head. "You don't want to come with me?"

"It's not that, Nick. I just figured that you wished to keep the trailer hidden."

Nick glared. "First off, I'm your Mate. I highly doubt that you would use the knowledge of the trailer's location against me. Second, shut your mouth. You are coming with me."

Renard nodded quickly, knowing not to piss his Mate off. Royals had powerful Mates for a reason. Their Mates were the only people that could subdue them and Nick was no exception to that rule.

Just then a timer went off, signaling that Nick's clothes were done. Nick suddenly laughed. "What's so funny now?"

"You know how to do laundry, but don't know how to cook?"

Renard rolled his eyes and kept walking to the laundry room. He pulled Nick's clothes out and regrettably handed them over to the Grimm. "And here I thought I'd get to see you in my clothes a little longer." The Royal said, eying Nick from head to toe with a gaze that could almost be identified as lustful, had Nick been really looking.

Nick blushed. "I look like I'm drowning in polyester. What's so attractive about this?" Nick asked, gesturing towards his body.

Renard placed his hands on Nick's hips and buried his face into the crook of Nick's neck. The Grimm moved his neck slightly so that the Royal would be more comfortable. "There is something you should know about Royals and most wesen, Nick." He inhaled the mingling scent of his Grimm's and his own scent. "I'm sure you know people have different, unique scents, considering your first wesen ally was a Blutbad." Nick nodded distractedly when Renard started to kiss his neck. "Then you must know that when you wear my clothes, you smell like me."

Renard felt more than saw Nick's face heat up. On his neck he saw that the mark he left the previous night was fading, so he latched himself to it to make the mark more noticeable. "Sean!" Nick gasped out as he gripped at Renard's hair, urging him to continue. Renard nipped at his neck, making sure the mark would remain dark and visible.

"You should also know that I am dominant by nature, Nick. You know what that means, correct?"

Nick gasped as Renard moved to make another mark on the sensitive flesh of his neck. "Y-Yeah. I kn-know." He groaned when the Royal bit down even harder than before. "Oh God, Sean!" He cried out.

"You expose your neck so willingly to me." He bit down again, making Nick whimper and shake from the pleasure. He could smell the arousal radiating from Nick like it was the sweetest-smelling candy in the world. "You are mine. I am the only one who will ever see you like this, understood?"

"Yes, Sean!"

"Good." Sean moved and kissed Nick, forcing his tongue into the Grimm's mouth. Nick moaned loudly, but the pleasured sound was caught between them. Nick was so responsive to his every touch. He knew it was partly because of the pheromones he released; once Nick accepted the Bond he became more receptive to them, but that didn't make him enjoy it any less. In fact, it made him enjoy it more knowing that his Mate had accepted the Bond. The pheromones were designed to make Nick feel the need to be claimed as much as Renard wanted to claim him. With the way the Grimm was clinging to the Royal it was pretty obvious that he felt it.

But Sean had to stop. He didn't want this to go too far too fast. He wanted Nick to really be certain that this was what he wanted before he fully claimed him. He needed to know everything, including the more illegal side of his position as a Royal. Nick had to be prepared to be a Royal's Mate and that took a lot of responsibility. He didn't want to force his Mate to give up his moral code just because of some Royal business.

Sean pulled away, forcing himself to take a calming breath. He looked at Nick, who looked completely disheveled, his hair was only semi-dry so it was sticking up in the places that Renard had gripped. His lips were dark, his gray eyes dilated. He was panting heavily, trying to calm his breathing. The marks on his neck were dark and there was no way he'd be able to cover them up. Renard smirked at that.

"I'll let you go get changed."

Nick nodded absentmindedly and walked to the bathroom. However, when he came out changed in his now clean clothes, he was glaring heavily at Renard, who was seated at the table. "Dammit Sean! Look at this!" He yelled, coming face to face with the Royal and pointing to his neck.

Renard smirked. "Whatever do you mean, little Grimm?"

His glare only deepened. "You know what I mean, Jackass. You left hickeys so high on my neck that my shirt and jacket won't cover them up!"

"Why would you ever want to cover them up?" Renard asked innocently. He knew exactly why, but he had to rile Nick up a little more.

Nick sighed. "As much as I would love to tell people, we can't have others knowing about us at the station. I would get transferred and I really don't want that to happen."

Renard nodded and pulled the Grimm into his lap. "It's fine. I'm sure you'll come up with something. After all, with all the creative reports you have come up with for your wesen cases I know you're good at coming up with something fast."

Nick grumbled. "You're still a Jackass."

"You must truly love to call me that."

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

Renard kissed him softly on the lips. "Come on. We're going to be late to work." Nick nodded and climbed off his lap. "Oh, and Nick?" He continued when his Grimm turned to him. "I will tell your boss that you have requested to leave work early for a personal matter. You said you needed a suit, right?" He smirked.

Nick returned the smirk with a devilish one of his own. "Yeah, make sure you tell Captain Renard that. He seems like a suit and tie kind of guy."

Renard laughed and they made their way out the door and to the precinct, but not before they made a pit stop to the trailer to hide the keys. Renard was a little hesitant to enter the trailer but Nick urged him to go. "Come on, Sean. It's not going to kill you. Well, it might. There's a lot of weapons in there, so be careful. It's also kind of cramped, and you're about the same height as Monroe so watch your head."

Renard walked in and the first thing he noticed was that it smelled like Nick. "You've been here a lot, haven't you?"

"Well, unlike the rest of the wesen world, I wasn't born into it so I spend a lot of time here reading about wesen. I need to know as much as I can if I'm going to be any good at my job."

Renard nodded. "You are a very studious Grimm."

Nick smiled. "Thanks."

Renard walked over to the books while Nick found a place to hide the keys. "So these are the famous Grimm texts. They are truly a sight to behold." He said distractedly, his focus on the apparently awe-inspiring Grimm lore books.

Nick obviously didn't understand that these were rare treasures he was keeping in this trailer. "They're pretty gory, to be honest. My ancestors were pretty awful."

Renard nodded. "Have you hidden the box?"

"Yeah. Let's get to work." He affirmed.

Before Nick could walk out, Renard stopped him. "Sean?"

"Nick, do you know what I am?"

Nick's head tilted slightly. "You mean as a wesen? Well, you're half Zauberbiest, half Royal."

"Not like that. I mean, do you know what I've done? Do you know the kinds of things I've had to do to get to where I am?"

Nick didn't really understand where he was going with this, but he answered anyways. "I don't know exactly, but even if it's bad I'm sure you had a reason."

Renard laughed humorlessly. "Nick, if your ancestors had a book on Royals, you'd know that we are killers. I've killed a lot of people to get where I am. Are you sure you can live with that? Are you certain that you can live with a killer, Nick?"

Nick was silent for a long moment. Renard knew he needed to tell Nick everything so that he could make a full judgment on whether he should really be with Renard, but he was afraid, and Nick's silence wasn't helping much.

"Sean, you might be the dumbest person on the planet."

Renard glared. "Excuse me?"

Nick returned the glare tenfold, making the Royal nervous. "You really think that killing people is going to push me away? As fucked up as that statement is, I know for a fact that you have never killed someone who didn't deserve it. Monroe tells me more than just what an Esbiber is, Sean. He tells me certain things about wesen law. If someone breaks the law, they will be punished. Wesen know the law and some of their actions will lead to their deaths. Does that make you some deranged killer because you're upholding the law? I don't think so, because if it did, I would be one too. I've killed people out in the field many times and maybe it's the Grimm in me, but I've never felt like a psychopath for killing someone who broke the law and tried to attack me to get away from their punishment." Nick tried to take a steadying breath, but his voice only got angrier. "You only become a cold-blooded killer the moment you kill for selfishness."

"How are you so certain that I've never killed without reason?"

The confidence on Nick's expression was unwavering. "I just know."

It was Renard's turn to be silent for a while. "You would be right, Nick. I have never killed a wesen or human who hasn't broken the law. I have had no reason to."

"If you did, you know I would stop you, right?"

Renard nodded. "I would expect nothing less from you."

Nick looked at his feet. "Sean?" He whispered.

"Yes, Nick?"

"If… If I end up becoming like my ancestors…" He looked up at Renard. "If I somehow break, you need to stop me, no matter what."

That thought scared him. He couldn't kill Nick. He wasn't physically capable of it. "Nick, I don't know if I can do that." He said, his voice quivering. He had never cared about someone like this. The Mate Bond was truly powerful.

"Even if you don't kill me, just stop me. I don't care how."

Renard nodded. "It won't happen, Nick. I won't allow you to break."

Nick was genuinely surprised. In all the time he was a Grimm, he had never seen Renard unintentionally woge. He saw the surprise in his Mate's face and the man tried to turn away, but Nick stopped him by standing in front of him and forcing him to face him. Silently he studied the scarred skin and glowing green eyes, not finding them deterring from Renard's overall attractive features. In fact, he felt this added to Renard's perfection. This was the Royal's true face. He cradled his Mate's face gently in his hands and, with a gentle smile on his lips, he stood on his toes and kissed the scarred tissue on his jaw and his eye. That smile never left his features even after Renard's more human façade returned, albeit with a little more shock on his features. "I know you won't. I trust you to save me before that could happen. Now come on." He said, taking one of Renard's hands and entwining it with his. "We're already late."

They both walked out of the trailer and drove to the precinct. As the Royal drove, he ran a hand through his hair before a soft laugh of disbelief left him. Nick was truly something.

Before they walked in, Renard sat in the passenger side of Nick's car. "Sean, what are you"-

The Royal kissed Nick until he couldn't breathe. "I won't be able to do that for the rest of the day, so I had to do it now." Nick could only nod, trying to stop his body from leaning closer to Renard and just throw caution to the wind to fuck in his truck. Renard smelled his arousal. He didn't know how long he could resist the Bond. He knew it was powerful but this was almost too much.

To change the subject, he said, "Nick, I'm going to make some calls to some allies of mine. They are going to be there to assist me in defending the Day of Truce formal. If my family is really coming, I can't let them know you're there."

"What should I do, then?"

Renard was quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure, but I will come up with something. I might not have enough time to tell you, but if I ask you to do something tonight, I'm going to need you to trust me and just do it even if you don't know exactly why."

Nick nodded. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. I'm more of a hack and slash kind of guy. This whole 'being sneaky' stuff isn't my thing."

Renard laughed, his low chuckle rumbling in his chest. "And Nick?"

Nick just looked at Renard, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say. "Hmm?"

"What you said and did at the trailer…" Nick smiled and let him finish. "It meant more to me than you know."

Nick nodded, then blurted out to his slight embarrassment, "You're not ugly, if that's what you were worried about."

Renard laughed another full-bodied laugh when Nick's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. He placed a final, chaste kiss to Nick's lips, a smile still gracing his features, before saying, "Let's get to work, shall we?"

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><p><strong>Question: Why hasn't the Grimm fandom come up with a name for the RenardNick pairing? ReNick? SeaNick? Renardt? It bothers me that the closest I've seen to a ship name is NickRenard. Looking back at my possible options, I really like Renardt. **

**Other Question: Is there anything you guys desire in this story? I have a lot of ideas for this. In my copy of the story, I just finished Chapter 5, but the reason I'm not uploading everything right away is simply because I want to see what the readers think. **

**So, Do you guys want anything out of the story? More Wu time (This is always wanted, but I figured I ought to ask anyways for Democracy's sake)? Maybe a specific side ship? Review and tell me! **

**Or you can just review because you're super nice or you want to tell me about a mistake in my grammar. I proofread everything myself so I might not catch everything. Thank you all!**


	3. The Day of Truce Formal

**So, I realize that I haven't said this yet, but I DON'T OWN GRIMM. IF I DID RENHARDT WOULD BE SHIPPED SO HARD. Okay, so this chapter I thought was really hard to write, but I'm happy with how it turned out. I hope you all like it, too! And I hope you all are okay with my chapter lengths. I don't like chapters that are less than 5,000 words. I always feel like I'm not giving the readers enough and I don't like that. If you all don't like the length I can definitely shorten my chapters. It's up to you! Well, here's chapter 3!**

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><p>Work was terrible. He didn't get any further in Frank Rabe's murder case, plus Hank and Wu decided to take it upon themselves to repeatedly pester Nick as to where or who he got the hickeys on his neck from. On top of that, it was very hard to be normal around his captain. Renard seemed to pull it off well enough, though Nick knew he was having just as hard a time as he was. When the Royal was certain no one was looking, he would lightly graze his hand against Nick's, desperate for the touch of his Mate. About halfway through his shift, Renard called him into his office. Nick wasn't exactly sure why; he was doing everything he could on the Rabe case, but all that went out the window when Renard pressed Nick against the door and roughly forced his lips upon a willing Nick, ignoring the loud sound that came from the door and focusing more on the loud sound that came from his smaller Mate's mouth.<p>

On a brighter note, the precinct had already fixed Renard's very thick, pretty much sound proof windows.

Currently, Nick was putting on the only suit he owned. Renard told him at the office to wear a green tie, so he found one and attempted to tie it around his neck. Before he got too frustrated with the fabric, he heard a knock on his door.

He practically ran down the stairs to answer it, already knowing who it was. When he opened the door he swallowed heavily. His captain looked really good in a suit.

"Hello, Nick. Do you mind if I come in?"

Nick blinked, unable to comprehend words quite yet. "Uhh, yeah. Of course."

Renard chuckled, but entered when Nick stood to the side to let him in. Renard stared at his Mate, loving the sight of him in formal wear, knowing that this man was his. He found it oddly adorable to see the wrinkled tie hanging around Nick's shoulders, knowing that he had tried to tie it several times on his own. "Let me help you with your tie."

Nick looked down, then smiled sheepishly. "I've never really had a reason to wear a tie, so I never learned."

"Then leave your ties to me and you can cook your eggs. It's an even trade, yes?" Renard smirked.

Nick laughed, remembering their morning together. "Sure, oh glorious God of Ties."

Renard just leaned down to kiss Nick deeply, the Grimm happily returning it. It was hard enough when Nick was at work to keep away from him, but when Nick left to get ready? That was the true meaning of torture.

"Are you ready to go?"

Nick nodded, his eyes still half-lidded. "Yeah."

Renard held his arm out and Nick took it. "Then let's go."

In the car, Nick teased his captain incessantly about his chivalrous actions. "You're such a gentleman! You hold the door open and offer your arm, what's next? Are you going to lay your coat on a puddle for me?"

Renard just released one hand off the wheel to poke Nick in the side, who definitely did not yelp loudly. "Are you ticklish, my dear Grimm?"

Nick's face turned red. He said nothing.

"I'll take that as a yes." Renard smirked. "I'll make sure to use that at a later time against you."

Nick glared. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Nick mumbled an apology for teasing him very quickly.

They arrived shortly after that in at a place Nick didn't recognize. He knew they were slightly outside of the Portland city limits, but he didn't know much about this area. It was nice and quiet. Night was just starting to settle over the area. This formal was surprisingly held outside; Nick thought it would be in some building, but thinking about it now he figured this was a better setting. A lot of wesen felt more comfortable outside.

There were tables and food of all kinds. There were canopies and chairs, everything a party would need. There was even a bar as well as a karaoke machine set up. Nick smiled at the atmosphere this place gave off. He couldn't wait until people started to arrive.

"Why are we the first people here?"

"Well, we are the ones who have organized this, so we must be here to greet the guests."

Nick was confused. "I didn't put this together. I shouldn't get credit for this. Sean, this is amazing. You really did think of everything. I can't take any credit for what you did."

Renard shook his head. "That's not how it works in the wesen world, Nick. You are my Mate now therefore you are just as much a part of this as I am. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Nick blushed and Renard leaned down capturing his soft lips once more. He pulled away, but only barely. "I don't know how much longer I can keep pulling away, Nick. The Bond… it's very powerful."

Nick felt his body heat up for an entirely different reason than embarrassment and he bit his bottom lip. "Then quit resisting," he answered.

Before Renard could say anything to that, a man walked up to them, bowing low to both him and Renard. "Sirs, I have set up a defense perimeter around the area, all with photos of the other Royals. They won't come here unspotted."

Renard nodded. "Thank you, Meisner."

Nick was confused. "Who's this guy?" He asked bluntly.

"I appreciate your subtlety, Nick." Renard said, refraining from rolling his eyes in the presence of his subordinate. "This is Martin Meisner. He is a member of the Laufer."

Nick nodded. He knew of the Laufer. Rosalie's brother Freddie was a part of it. He knew it was a resistance group against the Royal families and that Renard was the leader, but he didn't know much else. He'd have to ask Renard about it all later. Nick held out his hand to Meisner. "It's nice to meet you."

The man looked shocked that Nick held out his hand to shake and took it hesitantly. "Forgive me, Sir, but to have someone such as yourself shake my hand as if I were an equal is truly an honor."

Nick blushed. He knew he was Sean's Mate, a Royal's Mate, but he didn't expect to be treated like, well, royalty. He was about to tell the man that he was nothing more than a man, but another part of him – the part the was usually right – told him to keep his mouth shut because something like that would be seen as a sign of weakness.

Renard watched the small interaction with pride for his Mate. It was not easy to gain Meisner's trust. To do so was an incredible feat, and Nick was already on his way there. Meisner liked to be respected which Nick gave him in the form of a handshake. However, Meisner was also a straight-forward, traditional man. He knew who Nick was and therefore knew that he was not an equal to a Royal's Mate. If Nick had said something to suggest otherwise – and he knew his Mate wanted to – Meisner would see it as a personal insult. He did not like to be led under false pretenses of any kind.

"So, when the Royals get here, how do you plan on getting everyone out of here?" Nick asked. "Because I'm not going to have a public showdown with crazy Royals. We don't need the fear that would be instilled in the wesen if they knew that the entire Royal family was in Portland. Also, if they decided to attack for some reason, we wouldn't be able to protect all of them and I don't want any casualties."

Sean blinked. He wasn't expecting that. Nick probably didn't even know it, but the Grimm had just proven himself competent. He briefly wondered if Nick was a tactical officer in another life.

Meisner answered coolly. "We have put in the announcements of the formal that we will unfortunately need to cancel early as Prince Renard has a prior political engagement that is urgent to attend to."

Nick nodded and turned to the sound of tires coming to the area. "It seems our party guests have arrived."

"I must return to my station." Meisner bowed low once more, then walked to his area.

Nick let out a puff of air as Renard wrapped his arms around his Mate. "You did well, Nick."

"Doesn't mean I have to like acting like a prick." He mumbled.

Renard laughed and pressed a kiss to Nick's neck. "I am sure that you're not the only one."

Soon enough, wesen of all kinds filed into the area. People chatted, drank, negotiated, anything but fighting. Nick smiled at this. It was nice to see that fighting didn't always happen as he mostly experienced with the wesen world. Sean apologized to Nick when he had to leave for a moment, but Nick told him it was fine.

The party continued to go very well. Nick stayed to the side most of the time, trying to stay as unnoticeable as possible. He was still wary about being a Grimm in this setting. He was worried he would cause something bad to happen. However, something surprised him when someone he didn't recognize right away took the microphone from the music stand.

Later, he should have known it was Bud. "H-Hello everyone. I want you to excuse my nervousness, but I wanted to have people's attention.

It was strange seeing Jagerbars and Blutbadden turn to listen to an Esbiber, but Nick kept listening.

"I just wanted to say how awesome it is that we can still do this after all these years. We have Prince Renard to thank for that. I think we owe his Majesty a round, right?"

Everyone cheered and clapped and howled, whichever they felt was right, they did. Nick smiled softly. He didn't know the wesen respected Renard this much. He knew a little bit about it, but not to this extent.

Bud continued. He almost broke down with his next words. "But we have another to thank. If you don't know already, which I know all of you do, there's a Grimm in town." Nick tensed, hoping nothing would happen. He barely noticed when Renard came up behind him. "I'm sure you all know the stories of the Grimms. We've all been told the horrors that they portray.

"But this Grimm, Nick Burkhardt, is nothing like that. We've seen his compassion for each and every one of us. Something I witnessed before was that he saved a wesen from a human. That human was going to murder a wesen and, even though other Grimms would have helped kill the creature, he stopped the human because he broke the law. To him, as long as we do not break the law we are kept under his protection. He sees us no differently from humans.

"I want to propose a toast to Nick. I know he's here. I've seen him standing on the sidelines like he doesn't belong. I think we need to give him a warm welcome."

Everyone cheered loudly, but Bud continued. "I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I've always known the Day of Truce formal to be a way to form alliances between families and wesen. I'm pretty sure it's time to make history. I think we should form an alliance with our friendly neighborhood Grimm, what do you say?"

Nick didn't notice it when Monroe walked up to the mic, probably because he was going into shock. "I think I speak for me and my wife when I say we're totally in this with you, man." Monroe held up his drink. "I stand by Nick."

The crowd was cheering wildly and Nick just stood there frozen. He had no idea that the wesen in Portland cared so much for him as well. He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he could hardly breathe steadily. He didn't know if he could take much more of Bud's kind words and the sheer support he was receiving, but the Esbiber kept going. "There's one more thing that I want to say, and then I'll leave everyone to it. Bud looked at Renard for this. "Sir, I say with the upmost respect that Fate has done you the kindest of services. I never even thought of a Grimm and a Royal being Mated, but seeing you two together, I can't think of another person that would be a better match.

"And Nick, you will make a great ruler. You and the Prince will be the most unstoppable team. But, when you do officially take your seat, I ask that you do forgive me if I call you Nick. King Nicholas will take some getting used to." He smiled.

Nick's eyes widened as the crowd chuckled. Renard just laughed, knowing exactly what his Mate was freaking out about.

"Let's hear it for our future Kings, yeah?"

Wesen cheered in every way possible, Howls, chirps, chants, claps, whistles, and shouts could be heard all around them. Nick couldn't be happier. They accepted him. It was a bit of a shock to hear that they already knew of Renard and his budding relationship but, he figured, between the wesen that could smell his and Renard's mingled scents and the way gossip spread, he knew that he shouldn't be that surprised.

What did surprise him, however, was when the Royal spun him around and kissed him amidst the crowd. The wesen only shouted louder and the Grimm added cat calls to the list of cheers. The creatures thought that their Prince and his Mate were publically announcing their relationship, but Nick knew better. With every swipe of his tongue, with every possessive pull and tightened grip on some part of his body, Nick knew this was Renard's own way of staking his claim. Nick was his and, honestly, Nick didn't want it any other way.

Renard pulled away, but still kept Nick flush against him. It took the Grimm a moment to notice, but the Royal seemed tense all of a sudden.

"Sean?"

"We need to get everyone out of here."

"What? Sean, what's going"-

Nick couldn't finish his sentence, however, because Sean was motioning to Meisner to take the mic. "Okay, everyone," Meisner began. "As you know, the Prince is a busy man, so we'll have to cut it short tonight, but thank you all for coming. Have a nice evening."

People shook hands, quickly saying goodbye before heading to their vehicles. Everyone was gone within fifteen minutes. Nick thought briefly back to his high school days, remembering how long it took just to get out of the parking lot when there was some kind of event. "Jeez," Nick said. "People sure are efficient at getting out of here, aren't they?"

Renard chuckled, though he still seemed wary of his surroundings. "I guess they are."

Meisner walked up to them, his eyes on Nick. "Sir, if you'll come with me, I will take you to a safe location."

Nick glared. "Are you crazy? I'm not leaving Sean here alone."

Renard spoke to Nick in what he hoped was a logical manner. "Nick, they're after you. If you don't leave, we're basically handing you to them."

"Or, if I leave, you'll get hurt and taken hostage and I'll just be forced to meet with them to negotiate your release, which will obviously be a trap. I'll get captured and then where will we be?"

Renard paused. He hadn't thought of that. Gritting his teeth and against his better judgment, he told Meisner the change of plans that he really didn't want to happen, but was the lesser of two evils. "Nick will stay here, then."

Just then, a black truck pulled up to the area, and outstepped four individuals. Nick immediately recognized the driver. It was Sean's cousin, Viktor Beckendorf. This man had worked with Sean's deceased brother Eric to kidnap him. He had sent countless wesen to kidnap him and kill his friends in the process.

The next person was a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Nick assumed she was Renard's sister, Natalia. She had a calming demeanor about her. The other man that walked alongside her must be the other brother Shane. Shane and Renard could almost be twins if it weren't for the fact that his Mate had green eyes and Shane had blue. There was also something in Shane's eyes that Nick thought was unsettling. He didn't like that man, though he didn't quite understand why.

The final man that walked in front of them all was someone Nick knew was dangerous. The way the man's eyes fell on him with such sheer hatred almost had Nick recoiling, but he held his ground. He was a dark-haired man with blue eyes, a scar lining one of them. He had scruffy facial hair that was obviously as well kept as the rest of him. He had an aura of power around him that was unlike anything he'd felt before. It was a dark power. This man did not mean anything good by his visit.

This man was what Nick would truly call evil, and he was his Mate's father, King Frederick Renard.

Renard instinctually stepped in front of Nick. "What a pleasant surprise, Father. What brings you to Portland?"

The King smirked. "How did you find out I was coming?"

Renard shook his head. "It wouldn't do me any good if I gave you all my trade secrets, would it?"

Frederick nodded. "No, I guess not, but it doesn't matter." He paused. "I'll get straight to business here. Hand over the Grimm."

"Do you really believe it'll be that easy?" Renard challenged. "Nick is mine. You will not take him so long as I'm alive."

Shane laughed. "Then let's kill him! He killed Eric, so we should return the favor for our brother."

Frederick considered this for a moment. "One more chance, Sean, or I will take the Grimm by force and remove you from the city."

Renard growled low. "You will not touch him or my city."

Frederick glared at his youngest son. "You have been nothing but a problem for me, Sean. I've done nothing but good for you and this is how you repay me?"

Renard smirked, no traces of humor in his eyes. "Good for me? You have done nothing for me. You sent your fucking dogs to kill my mother and me. We were on the run for years."

"I let you back in the kingdom, didn't I?"

"You let me back in, but I haven't seen my mother in decades, so forgive me for wondering whether or not you did me any good.

"You listen to me, Father. I will take your kingdom if it is the last thing I do. Your reign will be over. You will not instill fear into the people any longer, do you hear me?"

The King's expression changed drastically. The insanity he must be harboring showed through, making Nick hold back a shiver. "Kill him and take the Grimm. Do whatever has to be done but the Grimm must be taken alive!"

The attack happened before they could comprehend it. They weren't prepared for this. So much happened in such a short amount of time that Nick wasn't sure what exactly happened, but one minute he was standing behind his Mate and the next he was being dragged away by Viktor while Shane fought his brother. "Let me go!" Nick yelled as he struggled against the man.

Viktor smirked. "You won't get away that easily, Grimm. I am a Royal as well. My strength is superior to yours."

Nick didn't care. He struggled against the man, using every amount of strength he had. He used his leg to kick back at Viktor, earning him his freedom, but only for a moment. When he tried to run to his Mate, who was losing the battle against his brother, Viktor tackled him to the ground, this time holding a knife to his throat. "Now, where were we? Get up, Grimm."

Nick called his bluff and continued to struggle, regardless of the weapon held against him. "You won't kill me. You need me."

Viktor smirked. "Yes, that is true. I won't kill you, but I can beat you within an inch of your life and you'll cost Sean his life."

Nick froze. "What are you talking about?"

Viktor walked them over to the others. "What do you say, my King? Should we let little Nick decide?"

Renard was held down by his brother, his father yelling at him and hitting him every so often. However, the pain of the physical blows was nothing to the panic that surged through him as he saw the knife pressed against his Mate's throat. "I'll kill you, Viktor! Let him go!" Renard yelled, struggling with renewed vigor against his brother.

The King grinned maniacally. "Alright, Grimm. What's your decision? Will you come with us quietly and let Sean live, or will we have to use other measures?"

Nick was at a loss. He didn't want Renard to get killed. He knew if he didn't go quietly then the city of Portland along with the rest of his territory would be taken over by the Royals. He knew he should go quietly. He knew he had save the city and Renard. He knew what he had to do.

"Go to Hell." He said, spitting in the King's face.

Nick felt someone hit him hard on the back of the head. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but he was dazed for a moment.

The King glared heavily at Nick. "How dare you, you little shit!" He kicked Nick so that he fell to the ground. Renard was slowly starting to woge, his panic over his Mate overriding his need for composure. "Give me the knife, Viktor."

"Yes, Sire."

The man handed the blade over to his King. "I gave you a choice, Grimm, and you will pay the consequences."

Nick watched in horror as Frederick stabbed Renard in the stomach. It was like watching it happen in slow motion, though it happened very quickly. He screamed, tears rolling down his face at the sight of his Mate collapsing to the ground. He fought against Viktor and in a frenzy attacked the man with all the strength he had. He was breathing heavily, almost to the point of hyperventilating, but he kept punching Viktor. Shane let Renard fall and ran to pull the Grimm off his cousin, but Nick kept fighting. The Grimm wanted them dead. He didn't care the consequences. He just wanted to kill them. He fought against the two Royals and put up quite a fight, but they soon overwhelmed him in his panicked state.

"Sean!" He screamed as he was dragged away by the King himself.

"Make sure he's dead. I don't want him making any recovery."

Nick was silent for a moment. This couldn't be happening. He was stronger than this. He would stop this. He had to.

As they got closer to the car, however, Nick felt the crippling despair. He did this. This was his fault. He couldn't… He didn't…

A blood curdling scream ripped from Nick's throat, the pain of failing his Mate and knowing he was going to die just too much. Just as he screamed, a large pulse emanated from his body, sending the King as well as the truck flying in different directions. A surge of power rushed through Nick and the wind blew strongly, as if the weather itself was bending to his will. He didn't know what this power was, only that he knew how to use it. It was instinctual. His eyes gleamed with the silver of the Grimm as he used his new power to force Viktor and Shane away from his Mate with a simple outstretch of his hand.

He knelt down to Renard, whose eyes were closed in pain, faintly gripping the knife in his stomach.

"Get him you idiots!" He vaguely heard the King shout. When Shane and Viktor tried to make their way to Nick, the Grimm didn't even acknowledge them. A fiery circle erupted around them both, protecting Nick and Renard from anyone who tried to enter there.

Nick pulled the knife out of his Mate, wincing as the grunt of pain went through him. "I'm going to help you, Sean. We're going to get out of this." He said in a shaky voice.

Nick held his hands over the man's wound and a green light erupted from them. His Mate's face eased in its painful expression and Nick leaned over his Mate, trying not to let the tears fall in front of the others.

He felt Renard's large hand pat his back. Nick looked up with wide, teary eyes. "Thank you, Nick."

Renard stood then, completely healed and ready to fight. "Sean…" He whimpered.

"It hasn't hit you yet, but you will want to know what is going on." He looked around. "We can't continue fighting here. I'm sure people have seen the fire."

Nick blinked and looked around, seeing the circle of flames that surrounded them. Nick started to breathe heavily as he remembered that he'd done that and didn't know how. Before he could really panic, that power surged through him, reminding him that they were still in danger. The Grimm took over once more and he lowered the fire. He was ready to charge and attack, but Viktor, Shane, and Frederick were gone.

They both took a breath and the wind slowed, but they both stayed on high alert, wondering if the other Royals were simply hiding. Through the trees they saw a bunch of cars headed their way. Renard recognized the vehicles as the ones that belonged to the Blutbad and Hank Griffin. They pulled up quickly and, surprisingly, out of the back of the Blutbad's car sat his sister, Natalia.

Renard growled, ready to attack his sister, but she held up her hands in surrender. "Calm down, Brother. I am not your enemy."

"Prove it," he growled. He was exhausted to the bone, but he would protect his Mate until the moment of his death.

"I'm sure you're wondering who the Jagerbar's informant was. I'm the one that got you the keys, Sean. I'm the one who warned you."

Renard hadn't told anyone except Nick about the keys, so he lowered his guard somewhat. He still kept up his defenses, but he had a feeling his sister was telling the truth. When he was a child, Natalia always watched over him like the older sister she was. They got along the most and he knew she wouldn't hurt him.

Nick, meanwhile, was slowly coming down from his adrenaline rush and was swaying on his feet. His head was hurting severely. He tried to stay awake, but he eventually felt himself falling.

Renard caught his Mate's unconscious body. He forced himself to believe he was fine, because Nick was. His heartbeat was strong and his breathing was evening out. He was just overwhelmed with the amount of energy that he used.

Rosalie and Nick's long time best friend, Juliette, ran over to help, but Renard growled, his instincts driving him to protect his Mate. "Woah there, Captain. They're just here to help." Hank soothed.

Renard breathed, knowing they were telling the truth. He helped them carry Nick to his car. Juliette drove and Rosalie sat in the passenger seat, running a list off of things they'd need to help Nick. Renard sat in the back, holding his unconscious Mate until they got to the spice shop.

Renard, needing to distract himself so that he didn't go on a rampage through the city in search of his blood relatives, asked, "How did you know where to find us?"

"The Princess came to the spice shop, saying that you two were in trouble. At first I didn't believe her, but we couldn't just ignore something like that if there was even a chance that it would be true. You had said earlier that your family was coming to Portland, so we went. I called Hank, who was with Juliette, for backup and we all came to help as soon as we could, though it seems we are a little late on the arrival, which I apologize for, Sir." Rosalie explained. "If I may ask, whose blood is on your shirt?"

Renard look down, long forgetting about the healed stab wound. "It's mine."

"You seem to be in no discomfort. Do Royals really heal that quickly?"

Renard smirked. "No, we don't. I should have died from that wound, but Nick healed me."

"Healed you? I thought Grimms didn't have that kind of ability?" Juliette said.

Rosalie nodded. "They don't."

Just then, they pulled up to the spice shop and all shuffled inside. "We need to take him to the back room. There's a bed there. He'll be more comfortable there." Rosalie informed.

Renard nodded and listened to the Fuchsbau. He may be a Royal, but he was not afraid of listening to those who had more experience than him. He would lay down his pride for his Mate.

Meisner walked into the shop, bringing some supplies along with…

"Adalind? What are you doing here?" Renard said, the threat evident in his voice.

Meisner stepped in between the Royal and the Hexenbiest. "I apologize, Sir, but I figured she could be of help considering your Mate's current… magickal condition."

She smirked, knowing she had won this argument. "It seems the Grimm is a lot more than he seems. You know he will need my help. He's going to need more help than a half Zauberbiest can offer."

"Why are you going to help him?"

"That's for me to know and you to shut up about."

Renard growled, but didn't do much else.

The rest of the night was spent preparing various oils and drinks that Adalind and Rosalie prepared with the help of Juliette and Natalia. Hank, Monroe, and Meisner kept lookout, in case the other Royals returned.

After everything was prepared and most of the tension had settled Adalind spoke to Renard. "So when were you going to tell me that the Grimm had Witch blood?"

"I wasn't. It was none of your concern."

"It is now." She said simply, and that was all Renard needed to know where Adalind's loyalty was.

Several hours later, Renard rubbed his eyes after everyone was asleep. Meisner was keeping watch, but everyone else was on the floor, wrapped in a blanket of some sort, waiting for Nick to wake up. Renard knew he should have told Nick sooner about his heritage, but he never got the time to. Now he would have to explain not only Nick's family tree, but also the fact that he would be forced to spend some "quality" time with his favorite Hexenbiest, Adalind Schade. It was for the best, but he had a feeling Nick wasn't going to like it.

Nick was going to be pissed when he woke up but, watching his Mate sleep – albeit a troubled sleep – and knowing that they were both alive was worth any wrath his Mate could bestow upon him.

He leaned down and kissed his Mate's forehead, then curled up beside him and quickly fell into a troubled sleep alongside Nick.

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><p><strong>I'm a mean person to Nick.<strong>

**I wanted to make note that I appreciate all the reviews I get. It brightens my day when I see someone who reviewed. I get all excited and fangirly. **

**So, what do you think's going to happen? You should definitely tell me what you think.**

**I love Adalind. I love her character. I love her sass and her evilness and just ugh... Adalind is the sassmaster. I think I'm going to name a Chapter "Adalind the Sassmaster" just because she deserves to be recognized. If you guys see a chapter with that name, know it's because I adore Adalind's character. **


	4. What Are We, Seven?

**Hey all! Sorry for the long wait! I had finals and I wanted to finish NaNoWriMo, which I was successful at! Thank you all for your patience and please, read on~! Just so you know, this story is rated M for a reason!**

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><p>When Nick awoke, he immediately noticed the searing pain in his skull. It felt as if his skull was trying to cave in on itself and explode at the same time. The pain ripped a crippled moan from his parched throat.<p>

He heard some people shuffling around and a brief pass of, "He's awake," but the sounds only made his pain worse. In fact, his whole body felt like someone had taken a metal bat to it.

He heard a soothing voice call his name. His body instinctually leaned into the source of the voice, the sound of it practically caressing his pounding head. "Nick, drink this, okay?"

Nick obeyed when the cup was placed against his lips. It tasted abysmal, but the pain in his body almost immediately ceased and he released the tension in muscles he didn't realize he had. Opening his eyes slowly for fear the migraine would return, he saw Renard. "Sean?" He asked weakly.

Renard smiled softly. "Yeah, Nick. It's me."

"Are you okay? Did anyone get hurt?"

Renard was shocked at Nick's sincerity. "No, no one else was injured. Just me and you, but you healed me pretty easily."

Nick smiled. He knew he should be more freaked out that he had suddenly developed magickal powers, but that must be a side effect of whatever he drank. "When do I get to find out about that one?"

Renard chuckled. "When you can wake up without a migraine."

Nick nodded. "Then I'm going back to sleep." He said, a heavy yawn bursting forth as he closed his eyes.

"Okay, Nick. Do you want me to leave?" He asked.

Nick, with his eyes still shut, reached out and pulled Renard down to lay with him. "No. Stay here."

Renard chuckled and kissed Nick softly on the crown of his head. "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

But Nick was already asleep once more. Renard laid his head down and pulled Nick close to him. He might as well get a little sleep too. He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. This time, he fell into a deep sleep.

It took Nick three days to recover. He still had some minor bruising, but otherwise he was okay. It was on that fourth day – his first full day at one-hundred percent – that Adalind decided to show her face again.

Nick was going to attack her, but Renard held him back. "Sean, that's Adalind!"

"Yes, Nick, I know. I've brought her to help you!"

Nick glared at his Mate. He briefly heard the noise of something breaking, but he didn't care. "Why would I need Adalind to help me with anything?"  
>Renard sighed. "That's what I've brought you and her here to explain. My sister is here as well along with your other allies."<p>

Nick blinked in confusion. "Did I… miss something in the three days I was out of it?"

Renard smiled both amusedly and placating. "Yes, Nick. We're all here to bring you up to speed."

At this Nick nodded his assent to listen. Renard called out to the others – who were apparently in the other room of the spice shop eavesdropping – to come join them.

It didn't take long to explain to Nick the events that followed after he passed out. Natalia went in to her explanation of how she got the keys to Nick.

"I knew the Jagerbar through some negotiations he had done for other wesen in the past.  
>As a lawyer, he knew many people. It took me a while, but I knew that Frank Rabe was loyal to you, Grimm. I told him that I wished to help my brother and that the only way to help him was to help you. I spied for him and eventually gained enough trust from my father to come upon the knowledge of the location of the keys. I took them as soon as I could and delivered them to the Jagerbar. We didn't speak after that."<p>

Nick looked down and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know your thoughts on Frank, but he was killed about a week ago."

The Royal looked upset, but she kept calm. "I am sorry, Nick. I did not mean for this to happen. I know he had a son. Is he alright?"

Nick nodded. "Barry is fine. He's over eighteen now and he inherited his father's estate. He's still shaken up about his father, but he's a Jagerbar. Death isn't something they mourn. They celebrate it." He smiled sadly. She returned the smile.

Adalind cleared her throat. She was a lawyer too, so she knew Frank as well. Nick realized this and, in his innate good nature, he asked her, "Are you okay, Adalind?"

The whole room, wesen and human alike, was shocked. The wesen went as far as to scent Nick to see if he was sincere. When they realized he was, they watched the interaction with rapt curiosity.

"I'm fine, Grimm. No need for your concern."

"You were a lawyer."

"I _am_ a lawyer. You think I don't know that, idiot?"

He paused, stunned by her emotional outburst, but continued. "Did you know Frank?"

She glared at him. "What's it to you?"

"You lost a coworker, maybe even a friend. Jagerbars may be able to deal with death, but I'm not so sure about Hexenbiests. So again, are you okay?"

She ignored him and turned to Renard. "Let's just get this long, overdrawn explanation over with. I don't want to be here too long."

No one noticed it when she looked at Nick, giving him a very subtle nod. Well, except Nick. He took that as her not wanting to talk here, but that she needed to talk later. Nick wondered briefly about what she wanted, but would ask later where to meet her.

Renard's deep voice broke him from his thoughts. "Nick, do you know the story of the first Grimms?" Nick shook his head. "I'm not surprised. Most wesen don't even know.

"It happened in during a time when the world was divided into tribes. Each tribe was either a specific race of wesen or a human one. At this time, the Royal family was just rising to power. The Royal family consisted of a small family tribe, one that not many wesen knew of. They were powerful creatures, so the wesen listened to them willingly, thinking that a powerful ruler would lead them into prosperity. They rallied the wesen tribes, uniting them as a single group. They travelled to the human tribes, hoping not to frighten them, but to teach them who they were and to learn what they could from each other. Back then, humans and wesen lived in harmony with one another under the rule of a wesen king.

"But, as time went on, another faction was formed to coup against the wesen king. These humans thought of themselves as superior to the wesen, thinking of them as mere animals. Wesen and humans alike were forced to pick a side. Naturally, wesen sided with wesen and humans sided with humans. This war waged on for thousands of years, and a lot of things happened in between. One of the largest events that happened was the almost extinction of the human race. As the wesen rose in numbers, the humans adapted and some were born with the ability to do things no human could do before. They were known as the Witches.

"The Witches fought back for humanity, winning battles and rebuilding hope in their people. They were feared by the wesen. Some wesen, hoping to gain a leg up on their opposition, attempted to imitate the magick that the humans could use. They eventually succeeded, but at a cost. Nature did not like their use of magick, so it morphed them, distorted their visage to represent the unnatural act they committed. They soon became known as the Hexenbiests.

"There was one Witch, however, that was born shortly after the last major human refuge – the Roman Empire – fell at the hands of the wesen. His name was Philipp Grimm.

Philipp Grimm was a knight at this time. He was the strongest Witch of his time and the most feared human warrior that they had. If Philipp was on the battlefield, the humans were sure to win. His power was nothing like they'd ever seen before. His name and his power made even the Royals quiver in fear. Alongside him were his loyal friends. Even though his friends were not Witches, they fought together and never left each other alone. Their group became known as the Grimm Knights.

"On one of their trips through a territory, Philipp encountered a wesen woman – a Hexenbiest. He didn't know exactly what drew him to her, but his instincts were never wrong. He followed her and, of course she knew and she attacked him. Well, somehow they ended up not killing each other and falling in love. It was something forbidden at the time, but they did it anyways.

"Philipp was eventually forced to return to the battlefield, but he couldn't put his heart into it any longer, as he was killing his true love's people, so he called for a ceasefire, the first and only one since the war had begun. By then, Philipp had become the unspoken King of the human race. He met with the wesen Royal King and after a long dispute, they negotiated the terms to end the war.

"People on both sides cheered when they heard the war had ended. They celebrated for a whole day, calling that day the 'Day of Truce.' Humans spoke to wesen like friends would towards each other.

"After everything settled down, Philipp called his Grimm Knights together once more. They met somewhere in modern-day Germany, though we are not certain where. Philipp created a spell that would allow them and their descendants to always be able to see the wesen. Philipp made it known that their children should not learn to kill mercilessly, but that their job was to watch the Royals as well as the humans to make sure that a war like this would never happen again. They were meant to be arbitrators, to judge those who broke this law, no matter their race.

"Philipp then gave each of his knights a key, saying that if a war were to ever happen like this again that their descendants should know to give their keys to his descendant. He never explained why or what the keys were for, just that it was imperative that if a war should ever start, then his descendant should be given the keys.

"After the spell was cast and time went on, the Grimm Knights soon simply became the Grimms, the truth of the war was lost in the remainder of the Dark Ages, and both the Royals and the Grimms became corrupt. Things continued like this until the present day, and that's where we currently are now."

It took a long time for that story to sink in, with Nick recovering first. "I know you're not telling us all this because you like to tell bedtime stories. What's the point of this story?"

Natalia answered. "It has come to my attention that another war is soon to begin. The Royals are planning to take the world and make it theirs once more. The humans might be able to defend themselves from the wesen allied with the Royals, but they know nothing of the wesen world anymore. The few humans who do know are considered crazy. If the humans were attacked by the Royals, it would be a complete massacre."

Renard continued. "This is where you come in, Nick. Philipp Grimm knew that his friends' descendants would not always be together. They would eventually drift to other lands, so in order for the others' descendants to know who his descendant was, he noted that since he was a Witch, his descendants would have his powers as well. Grimm worried that his descendants would turn away from his laws, knowing how dangerous the wesen world was, so he created another spell that would take away his successors' abilities unless they obeyed the laws he originally set out for the Grimm Knights.

"Nick, we have more than enough evidence with the exception of actual DNA evidence that you are the descendent of the original Grimm. The fact that you are a Grimm as well as a Witch is enough proof for me. There are no such things as coincidences, after all."

Nick's eyes were wide. He shook his head fervently. "No, it has to be someone else. Even if I was the descendant of the original Grimm, wouldn't my mother and aunt have these magickal abilities?"

Renard shook his head. "Philipp only allowed his descendants to have the power of the Witches if they followed the original law he set for the Grimms. You are the first to do that in centuries, Nick. It is unlikely that your mother and aunt or even their Grimm parent would have the magickal abilities of a Witch."

Nick stared out with wide eyes at nothing in particular. "I can't… There's just no way…" He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I've just barely grasped being a Grimm. How am I supposed to just add this on top of it all?"

"That's where I come in." Adalind interrupted. "As you know from that riveting history lecture, Hexenbiests are the imitation of the Witches. My ancestors successfully imitated your ancestors, so our powers are virtually the same."

Nick stared between Renard and Adalind, quickly putting the pieces together. "Oh, no," he began, glaring at Renard. "I'm not working with her!"

"Actually," she smirked triumphantly. "You won't be working with me. You'll be working under me. You can call me Professor Adalind."

Nick stood up, his anger as well as his magick lashing out and breaking another jar. He noticed this time and took a calming breath. He sighed and in a defeated posture, he looked at Adalind with a tiredness that surprised even her. "I'm sorry. You're just trying to help. I'm just upset and I'm really tired of breaking things."

She merely patted his cheek twice and replied with, "Don't worry little Nicky. That'll be the first thing we touch on. Lesson Number One is how to not break things."

Nick laughed and Renard really wasn't sure what to make of this. _One minute they're yelling and the next they're laughing?_ He shook his head in disbelief as he watched Adalind and his Mate pass banter back and forth to each other. If some kind of weird friendship developed between these two, he would assume his Mate was some kind of strange wesen that could make anyone like him.

Nick's voice broke him from his musings. "Sean? Will you come with us?"

He blinked. "Are you sure that you won't want privacy?"

Nick's expression was one of confusion. "I want you there, though," he said simply, as if this explained everything.

Renard smiled softly. "Okay, Nick. Anything for you."

Nick grinned like he had received the sweetest gift he had ever been given. "Okay, then! Let's go!"

The others in the room had left shortly after the story, letting their Prince and his Mate talk it out. Monroe stopped Natalia before she could leave. "Uh, Princess Natalia?" He called hesitantly.

She turned at the sound of her name. "Yes?"

He squared his shoulders. "I need to know, well, we need to know if there's any chance that your father has found out about the disappearance of the keys."

Rosalie, Hank, and Juliette listened in on this as well. The Princess inwardly smirked at the Blutbad's choice of words. Using 'father' in place of 'king' was a subtle, yet showing statement of his loyalty to her brother. "There's a possibility, but I will inform you on anything new that I learn. My father does not know as of yet that I am not on his side, so I must return, but you will know shortly of anything new that I find out. He thinks I am spying on you all as of now. I will come up with something to tell him, but rest assured that I am on your side." The conviction in her voice was sincere.

Monroe nodded. Then, in a brave and bold move that had Natalia wondering just what kind of man the Grimm was to gain such an ally, the Blutbad said, "You have to know that if I find out you're working against us, I'll die trying to rip your head from your shoulders. I stand by Nick and the Prince. I don't care about any other Royal."

Natalia nodded, no expression obvious on her face, but inwardly she was quickly developing a high respect for the wesen before her. "That is the way it should be, Mr. Monroe."

Then, she left and Rosalie was immediately chastising her husband about confronting Royals and death wishes, but she knew she couldn't have said it better herself.

"Where are we going?" Nick asked in the passenger seat next to Renard.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Nick. Adalind is the one leading us." He said, pointing to the car – Adalind's car – in front of them.

"It could be a trap." He mumbled, but the Prince heard it nonetheless.

"If I thought she was leading us into a trap, I would have killed her by now. Plus, if she somehow managed to convince me and we are headed into a trap, I'll kill her before she gets one foot out of the vehicle."

Nick should have been disturbed by the matter-of-fact tone in his Mate's voice, but he wasn't. He just sighed. "I almost wish it was a trap…"

Renard glared at his Mate before returning his eyes to the road. "You're just upset because you need her help."

The Grimm waved his hand flippantly. "Just shut up and follow her."

Renard just chuckled, which earned him a slap to the arm.

They ended up pulling over in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't a house for miles, just a forest nearby. Nick figured it was to hide their activities and he was impressed a bit that Adalind had thought ahead. "Come on, Grimm. Let's see what you're capable of."

"I thought we were going to learn how not to break things?" He grinned.

"We will. Don't worry. I just need to know what kind of power I'm dealing with." They walked out into the center of an open field. "Okay, sit down. Both of you." They listened. "While we're at it, since Renard's a half-Zauberbiest, we'll see what he remembers."

Nick looked at Renard. "You had to do this too?"

He nodded. "My mother taught me how to control the outbursts and how to control the magick I had, though mine is not as extensive as yours and Adalind's magick."

Nick smiled and turned to Adalind. "What do you want me to do?"

She smirked. "Take your coat, shirt, shoes, and socks off. We'll need you nice and cold for this to really work. I would have you strip down to your birthday suit, but your Mate probably wouldn't like that too much. His possessive side really is a pain in the ass." She laughed when the Royal growled at her.

Renard did not appreciate the puppy eyes his Mate was giving him. The Grimm knew he would fall for this, so he just forced himself to shake his head. The inner Royal did not like to deny his Mate what he wanted, but he knew this was for his own good. "Do it, Nick."

Nick huffed and did as he was told. He sat there shivering and said, "Now what?"

Adalind chuckled. "It's simple, really. Make yourself warm."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" He deadpanned.

"Find where your core is. Every being has a magickal core. The reason your body needs to be cold is because the core is warm. You'll notice it quicker when you do find it." Renard explained.

Nick nodded. "And how to I even begin to look?"

"Close your eyes." Adalind ordered and he found himself listening. "Think about the events where you broke something, or where your magick was released. Put yourself there and relive it. Remember everything up until the moment you released your magick."

Nick nodded and thought back to the first time he remembered doing it. He had broken Renard's office windows. He had just been told that Frank Rabe had been murdered. He remembered the sadness and anger he felt. Going by instinct alone, he held on to that feeling. He let himself be carried by it until he was literally standing in his memory, but it looked like time had stopped. Nothing was moving except for him. He walked over to himself in the chair and saw something.

It was so cliché, but it was really a glowing silver ball in front of him. He reached out hesitantly and was going to touch it, but it flew into his chest and he gasped, opening his eyes.

Renard and Adalind were talking to each other. Funny, he hadn't even heard them. Nick glared. "How is that supposed to help?" He said, gaining their attention.

Adalind smirked. "Are you cold?"

Nick glared. "What are you…" Then he remembered and blinked, finally noticing the warmth in his body. "Huh. Strange."

"Such is the world of magick." She said. "Now, the next step is draining the core."

Nick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "That doesn't really sound all that good."

She shook her head. "It's not, and it sucks, but it'll give me an idea of how much power you actually have and how long you can keep it up. You can build stamina, but I need to know where you are now so later I can see if you've improved."

"How do I do it, then?"

She stood up, Renard and Nick following suit. "That's actually what I was talking to Renard about. He's going to help you with this one. I don't have the patience for it."

"Can I put my clothes on now?"

She shook her head. "No. This is where you're going to learn to utilize the core and make it bend to your will."

Renard picked up where she left off. "You can do pretty much anything with magick. You just need to have enough energy to do it. Right now I'm just going to have you do different things with your magick until you can do it without thinking. To use your core, you have to act as if it's a separate being. You ask it to do something, and it will. However, you have to know your limits. If you ask it to do something beyond your capabilities, it will still do the action, but it might kill you."

Nick nodded, not worried in the slightest. He knew his limits. "Okay, what do you want me to do first?"

Renard smirked. "Knock me down."

Nick grinned, accepting the challenge. "You're on, Sean."

Then, without warning, Renard kicked him to the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs. He sat up, his Mate laughing. "Oh, you also have to defend yourself. Did I forget to mention that?"

Nick glared, his gray eyes bleeding into silver. "Let's do this."

Renard was fast. Every time he'd come close, Nick would have to block physically, which would break his concentration when he was trying to use his magick to knock him down. Nick was out of breath and covered in bruises and cuts about an hour into this exercise, but he kept going, never one to back down from a challenge.

After he had blocked another physical attack, Nick had to think fast. His concentration on his magick was being broken every time he had to block physically, so he decided to try something different. _I'll concentrate on blocking magickally instead._ So, when Renard came in for another attack, Nick was ready. He felt through his body to his core and forced a shield to come forth. Even though he knew it would happen, he was still surprised to see that it had worked. Nick smirked and concentrated on knocking Renard down, but the man was fast. He couldn't get a clear shot. He had to think fast because he was already feeling weak. Holding up a shield like this was harder than it seemed.

He briefly remembered that the point of this lesson was to be able to use his magick without thinking, so on a limb he dropped the shield, waited for Renard to come at him, then erected the shield again. He got faster and faster each time until it was almost second nature. He knew where his core was in his mind so this time he waited until Renard got close, but this time he didn't have a shield. He smirked when Renard came close and he attacked him with a force that knocked him over.

Nick was completely out of breath. His head felt like it was splitting in two, but he still managed a victory grin before promptly falling to his knees. Renard, who was also out of breath, though not as bad as Nick, came over to the Grimm and pulled him to his chest. Nick enjoyed the soothing touch of his Mate against his bare skin.

Adalind, meanwhile, was watching with mild curiosity. The Grimm should have passed out by now. She could tell he was tired physically, but magickally he could probably go on for a lot longer than his physical body would allow. She understood now why her ancestors wanted to imitate the Witches.

Their cores were an endless supply of power.

She stood up from her position and clapped. "Good work, Nick. Just for that I'll give you a break. Then we'll move on to our final lesson of the day."

Nick looked up from his current position. His head was on Renard's chest and he was seated in his lap. "What's that?" He said tiredly, appreciative of the break. His eyes widened when he felt Renard's languid kisses on his shoulder. He held in a barely repressed shudder when he added his tongue.

She smirked devilishly, making Renard wonder briefly what exactly she had planned, but returned to the more pressing task in front of him. "It's simple, really. I'm just going to make you so angry you won't be able to think straight." Nick glared, but she continued. "You're going to learn how to separate your emotions from your core, at least somewhat. Basically, you've only lashed out magickally in an agitated state, but that's normal. It happens to Witches and Hexenbiests alike, so don't fret too much. I'm going to show you how to tell your body and your core to not do that anymore."

Nick nodded, but was unsure about her method. "Are you sure getting me angry is a good thing? I could hurt you or Sean." He had to bite the inside of his cheek so as not to moan outright as Renard added teeth to his ministrations.

She grinned. "Don't worry about your Mate, Grimm. Even in an instinctual, maddened haze you couldn't hurt your Mate. It's not in your blood or something cheesy like that. As for me," she laughed. "I'll be fine. Trust me. You just Hulk out and I'll help you deal with the rest."

Nick just sighed in defeat. "How long do I have for break?"

"Thirty minutes."

He nodded. "Well then, I think I'm gonna steal my captain here and go for a walk in the woods over there, what do you say, Sean?"

Renard stood, pulling Nick up with him after the Grimm had put on his shoes again. "I think that's a good idea." The Grimm put his clothes back on and they started heading towards the forest.

"Don't have too much fun out there!" She called after them. Did they really think she couldn't see what Renard was doing right in front of her? Renard just laughed and she could imagine the Grimm's bright red face.

The moment they were out of her watchful eye, however, Renard pushed Nick against the nearest tree, said Grimm laughing even as his lips were attacked.

His laughs turned into gasps as Renard's hands began to wander under his shirt. The skin on skin contact was a fully welcomed touch. "Did you," he moaned when Renard bit down on his neck. "Forget she was there or something, Sean?"

"Forgive me," he began as his hands moved to pinch at his Mate's nipples. "You weren't awake for three days. I could not touch you like this."

Nick knew he was vocal, but the moan that escaped his lips when his Mate touched such a sensitive part of him made him blush. Renard growled at the sound, wanting so much to take Nick right there, but he didn't want their first time to be in the woods where Adalind would come looking for them. If she found them, the Royal wouldn't stand for the consummation of the Bond to be interrupted and he would certainly kill her. Not only would his Mate be pissed, but he needed her to help Nick, so he forced himself to pull away. Nick whimpered from the loss of the contact, but took a calming breath anyways.

When they had calmed themselves down as much as they could, Renard pulled Nick into his arms. Nick smiled as Renard wrapped his arms around him protectively and placed a gentle kiss to the crown of his head. There was so much going on in Nick's life right now. So many changes and obstacles that he had to overcome. Any normal person would have gone insane by now. Hell, if Nick was honest with himself, he knew he should be on the brink of insanity but, somehow, he wasn't. Every time Nick seemed to go near the edge, Renard was there to pull him back. Even before his relationship with the man and even before becoming a Grimm Renard seemed to have that effect on him. The man was like a beacon of light that was always there to lead Nick home whenever he fell astray. It wasn't until now that Nick realized where 'home' was.

It was here with Renard.

"We should head back now." Nick reluctantly said.

Renard pulled away, but not before placing a light kiss to his Mate's forehead and lips. "Are you sure you're up to this? You seemed pretty tired earlier." Renard asked, concern etched in his features.

Nick smiled. "I'm fine, I promise."

Renard nodded, trusting Nick's judgment. They headed back to Adalind, who was sitting there waiting for them. When they came close, her face contorted. "Ugh… You smell like pheromones, Grimm."

Nick blushed and Renard smirked deviously. "L-Let's just do this, okay?" Nick said hurriedly.

She nodded. "Okay, Bruce Banner. Time to Hulk out."

He rolled his eyes. "You expect me to magically get mad because you want me to?"

She shook her head. "No. That's why I'm going to do this."

"Do w"-

Before he could finish his statement, however, she touched his forehead, making him blink. "What did you do?" He asked.

"Unlike Witches, who are masters of all types of magick, we Hexenbiests have to specialize in one specific type. I just happen to specialize in curses and hexes. What can I say? It's all in the name."

Nick glared, surprised by the anger he felt. "What did you do to me?"

"I just hexed you. It's a personal favorite of mine. It works well when you need someone dead but don't want to or can't do it yourself. You just put this hex on someone and they get all angry to the point of committing pointless murder, then you sic that guy on the person you want dead and there you have it. Your person is dead and you only had to lift one finger to do so."

The silver leaked into his eyes, his hexed emotions telling him that Adalind was a threat. The moment the wind picked up Adalind began to speak again. "Okay, Nick. Here's what I need you to"-

She couldn't finish because Nick had tackled her to the ground. Renard watched bemusedly; she did this to herself. He wouldn't let Nick kill her, of course, but it was fun to see the prideful Hexenbiest squirm for a bit. He walked over to them and pulled the enraged Grimm off the woman before he could get a punch in. Nick tried to pull away from Renard, but the Royal topped him in physical strength.

"Jesus, Nick! Warn a girl, will you?" She huffed. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you need to feel your core again and find out how your emotions are tied to it, then sever the link. I promise it won't completely separate your emotions and your core. It'll only separate these types of emotions from affecting your core. Nick, are you even listening to me?"

Renard smirked. "I don't think he is. He's too 'Hulked out' to understand you."

She huffed again in annoyance. "Fine. You tell him."

The Royal nodded and forced his Mate to look at him. "Nick, listen to me." The Grimm stopped immediately and listened to Renard's words, though his eyes kept shifting towards the threat, towards Adalind. Once he had instructions he immediately did what he was told. When he opened his eyes once more, the hex had worn off and he was back to normal.

He glared at Adalind. "You could have at least told me what you were going to do."

"Now that wouldn't be fun now would it?" Before he could reply, she turned to Renard. "Do you mind if I borrow your Mate for a minute, Renard? I need to speak with him privately."

The Royal was a bit suspicious of this. "Stay where I can see you both," he said simply, then walked away towards his car.

She huffed. "He acts like a parent to his kids playing in the park."

Nick nodded in agreement, then, "What's up?"

"I knew him."

Nick blinked. "Who?"

"Frank Rabe. I knew him."

Nick nodded in comprehension. "Were you friends?"

She nodded. "At first people thought it was strange that a Jagerbar and a Hexenbiest were friends, but after hearing that a Blutbad and a Grimm were good friends, nothing really seemed to faze anyone anymore." Nick nodded and let her continue. "You were right about Hexenbiests not being able to handle death very well. Frank was probably one of my best friends." She closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath and stop the tears that threatened to fall. She huffed in annoyance, trying to gain some semblance of normalcy. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

Nick ignored the comment, touched by her honesty and felt more than guilty about it all. "I'm sorry, Adalind."

"What the Hell are you sorry for?"

"He was murdered because of me. He was trying to get something to me so that Sean and I would be prepared for his family's surprise visit and he was killed because of it."

Adalind knew she should be mad. She should be furious and ready to blame the first person willing to take it, but looking at the Grimm in front of her, seeing the guilt eating away at him, she couldn't keep any anger in her. "Shut up, you stupid Grimm. This wasn't your fault so quit making it out to be, you damned drama queen."

Nick smiled sadly. "I promise I'll find who did it and give them your personal salutation."

The tears fell freely from her eyes. She was grateful to Nick for ignoring it. "I see now why people are loyal to you, Nick." She said. "You appear just as you are. You don't hold anything back and you stick by your words, no matter what. I'm certain you'll catch Frank's killer. I don't doubt that at all." She smiled. It was a genuine smile that Nick thought she should wear more often.

Then, Adalind did something that had Nick fighting the urge to pinch himself for fear he was honestly dreaming. She bowed low to him, saying, "I know you are against the current Royals in power, but you and Renard are the only Kings I will follow. I will stand by you," she paused to raise her head and, with a smirk, added a little touch of the Adalind Nick knew, "Even if you are a stupid Grimm."

Nick could only laugh in pure shock and disbelief at what had just happened.

Renard wasn't sure what was said between the two, but judging by what he'd just seen and Nick's shaking shoulders from his laughter, his Grimm had just made another ally. He just shook his head incredulously. Nick shouldn't be able to surprise him anymore, but yet again the Grimm had done something he never thought possible. When the Grimm came back to the car, Renard smiled softly at his Mate, who returned the smile with a bright one of his own.

They were on their way back to the spice shop when Nick received a call. "Burkhardt."

Renard listened to Nick's side of the conversation. Judging by what he could hear on the other end of the phone without listening to Nick's conversation, he assumed it was Monroe. "You sure? Even Adalind and Meisner?"

Monroe said something that had Nick rolling his eyes, then laughing.

"Yeah, don't worry, Monroe," he looked over at Renard with a devious grin that had the Royal slightly worried for what the Grimm had planned. "We'll both be there."

Nick hung up then and Renard had to ask. "Where are we going?"

"I almost forgot about tonight. Every once in a while Rosalie, Monroe, and I have a game night at the spice shop. Once Hank and Juliette found out about the wesen world we eventually invited them, too." Nick rubbed at the back of his head absentmindedly, his other hand not sure what to do in his sudden nervousness. Renard found it cute. "You don't have to come, but I'd really like it if you were there, and Monroe and Rosalie are fine with it, and Hank and Juliette are good with anything. You can even invite Adalind and Meisner if that would make you more comfortable…" He trailed off when he realized he was rambling.

Renard smiled softly, adoring the Grimm next to him. "When do we need to be there?"

Nick smiled brightly, relief washing over him and he shifted in his bubbly excitement. "It starts as soon as we get back."

Renard reached over with one hand and pulled one of Nick's into his own. He drove the rest of the way to the spice shop in light conversation with his Mate, never once letting go of his hand.

Once there, Renard was surprised at the sudden change to the back of the shop. Everything was moved around. There was a big space in the middle of the room, a table to the side with plenty of chairs all around. The Royal studied the room and noticed a large cooler that he presumed was filled with alcohol. He felt a brief wash of guilt, thinking that he should have bought something to add to their impromptu get together, but Renard hoped he'd have another chance to make up for that.

They all sat down around the room with the exception of Meisner and Adalind, who were about to leave. Of all the people to make them stay, it was Rosalie.

"Please, Adalind, Meisner. Stay with us. Have a good time to relax."

Meisner nodded appreciatively. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Monroe, but I cannot intrude on you."

She shook her head. "Nonsense. This is my spice shop, and you are not intruding on anything."

Adalind and Meisner sat down and the evening went on with idle chatter until Monroe announced the game they would play.

Nick laughed hard at the game. "Truth or Dare, Monroe? What are we, seven?"

Monroe smirked at his best friend. "Trust me, man. This game is way better when you're over twenty-one and alcohol is involved."

"Okay," he laughed. "Who goes first?" He asked and took a sip of his beer.

Hank answered this. "An old house rule of my family's is that the oldest always asks the youngest the first time."

Nick nodded. "How old is everyone?"

They all said their ages and Nick huffed childishly as he was the youngest. "How am I the youngest?" He muttered. "I'm twenty-five…" Then, accepting his fate, he asked, "Who's the oldest?"

Renard poked Nick, gaining his attention. "No, there's no way you are the oldest. You and I are the same age. I've seen your birth certificate!"

Renard eyed him suspiciously. "Why have you seen my birth certificate?"

Nick's eyes widened, the sudden realization of what he'd just admitted dawning on him. He looked down, a blush staining his face when he muttered, "There was something different about you when I met you. I originally took that as untrustworthy so I looked you up…"

Renard smirked. "Well, I assure you, Nick. That birth certificate is a fake. I had someone make it, as no one would honestly believe me if I told them my real age."

"Now I'm curious." Nick asked.

Hank nodded. "You have to tell us, Captain. You can't just leave your two best detectives hanging like this!"

"Don't forget about the rest of us!" Juliette piped.

Renard nodded, knowing when he was beat. "I was born in 1753 in France. I am 261 years old."

Nick blinked then, without missing a beat, he said, "You must feel like a real cradle robber then."

Renard blushed and everyone bent over themselves, laughing. "Truth or Dare, Grimm?"

Nick grinned. "Dare."

Meisner gulped. "You should know, Nicholas, that you have just sealed your fate."

Nick tilted his head at Meisner. "Oh, come on. It won't be that bad."

Renard smirked devilishly as he whispered in Nick's ear what his Dare was. Nick's eyes widened in horror at what he had to do, but he wasn't about to be the first one out on the first Dare. "Can I at least finish my beer first?"

Renard nodded, his grin widening even more. "Of course. You're going to need the assistance of your liquid courage."

The whole room was enraptured with curiosity. What the Hell had Renard told him to do?

Nick rubbed his face, the blush evident on his pale features. He turned to Renard and glared. "Do I really have to do this?" The Royal raised one eyebrow, but nodded. The Grimm sighed in defeat. "I can't believe I'm doing this… I could get arrested!"

Hank laughed, kind of seeing where this was going. "Nick, we are the cops. I doubt Renard or I would arrest you."

"That's not exactly what I meant… Someone's going to call the cops on me…"

"Again, Nick. We are the cops."

Nick huffed, but focused his attention on what he had to do. He stood up and walked outside, clothes coming off as he walked. Rosalie, Juliette, and even Adalind were making whistling noises as Nick walked outside in nothing but his boxers and a beer in his right hand. They watched as the Grimm crossed the street and knocked on the door of the seemingly harmless business, but when the door was opened everyone watched in shock as Nick started to hit on the old lady who owned the small flower shop.

The old lady knew exactly what was going on and, judging by this man's red face and his friends' laughter across the street, she decided to go along with it. To Nick's horror, she looped her arm through his and started to walk away with him. Nick quickly told her the truth and apologized, but she brushed him off, saying this would be a wonderful story to tell her husband tonight.

"Unless you want to come home, Mister?" She asked playfully. Nick just blushed and politely declined before rushing back to the spice shop.

After putting his clothes on and downing the rest of his beer, he yelled, "You're an asshole, Sean."

Renard just laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment."

The whole room by now was in tears from their mirth. Even Meisner and Adalind had loosened up and were laughing right along with them. Several hours into their game night, Hank had strip teased everyone, Adalind had made out with Meisner, Monroe was sitting in his underwear, and Rosalie had stamps on half of her body. Juliette had just sat down after she was dared to chug three beers and was swaying on her feet. In her drunken state, she looked at Nick. "Truth or Dare?"

Nick, not wanting to know what his other best friend had in store for a dare, decided to go for truth. "Truth." He said.

She waggled her eyebrows at Renard, making Nick question what her next question was. He was mortified when she asked, "Have you ever had sex with anyone?"  
>Nick glared, he knew that she already knew the answer to that question. "Pass." He muttered.<p>

She wagged her finger. "Nope. You used your one pass on the toilet thing. Now answer to your fate, Nick."  
>He sighed. <em>Why do I always get the short end of the stick?<em> He wondered. Then, resigning to his fate, he answered with, "No, I haven't."

The whole room went silent. Hank, who was completely sober because he had to drive Juliette home, said, "You're shitting me. You're telling me that you, Nick Burkhardt, have never had sex before? You're trying to tell me that you are a virgin? I don't believe it. No way."

Nick shrugged, deciding complete honesty was the only way to get out of this situation quickly. "It never really crossed my mind, I guess. Even when I was a teenager living with my aunt, we moved around so much that I never considered it an option. I brought people home, but Aunt Marie always freaked out and we'd just move, so I stopped. In college I was too focused on my studies and at the academy it never occurred to me either. I've been in Portland ever since."

Renard was torn between the sadness he felt that Nick had never truly known what it was like to give himself to someone completely and the possessive lust he felt because his Mate would be his alone. The lust eventually won out, however, as he was a selfish Royal and therefore wanted Nick to be his in any way he could have him. Of course, the Grimm would argue against the idea of Renard being selfish, but that was only because Nick was too kindhearted to see the truth in the statement.

It wasn't much longer after that when everyone decided to leave. Renard drove Nick home, as the man hadn't been home since the Day of Truce formal and he was surely wanting to do so. Renard drove in silence, a tension in the car that Nick mistook for something bad. He overthought about the situation, thinking that somehow he had made Renard mad at one point in the night. At his door, the Royal was silent and placed a soft kiss to Nick's lips before promptly walking away, not saying anything to him. Unknown to the Royal, he sealed his Mate's worries that he was mad at him, making Nick wonder all night what he had done. After he had showered and was lying in bed, unable to sleep for over an hour, he sat up, got changed, and packed a bag. He would find out why Renard was mad at him. He wouldn't be able to sleep until he found out anyways.

He was so deep in thought that he hadn't realized he was at Renard's door until he was knocking on it. Renard opened the door and was surprised to see Nick standing there. Before he could greet the younger man, he blurted out, "Are you made at me?"

Renard blinked. "Hello to you too, Nick. Come in."

Nick blushed at his outburst. He wasn't exactly subtle with that. "Sorry…" He said, walking through the threshold.

Once the door was closed, Renard turned to Nick and asked, "Why in the world do you think I'm angry with you?"

Nick looked sheepish. "Well, you were awfully quiet on the way home and you didn't say much before you left…"

Renard felt guilt rise up at that. "I'm sorry about that. I had something on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nick asked.

Renard chuckled. "You'll think it's strange, but it was about you."

Nick blinked. "What about me?"

Renard pulled Nick close to him, placing a gentle kiss to his jaw. "I had to separate myself from you for a moment. After your… unexpected reveal, I was afraid I would do something I wouldn't be able to take back."

Nick looked confused. "Unexpected reveal? You mean the virgin thing?" He blushed when Renard nodded.

"Like I said before, Royals are possessive, dominant creatures." Renard reiterated.

Nick pulled Renard down for a kiss, coaxing the Royal's tongue into his mouth. It was slow at first, but the fire only grew as their kiss went on. Renard had backed Nick against his door, pinning the Grimm between his strong arms. Nick's fingers were holding on to the waistband of Renard's sweatpants, offhandedly noting that he had worn those same pants the last time he was here. He also noted more prominently that Renard was not wearing any underwear.

Nick moaned into the man's mouth when Renard groped firmly at his ass. "Sean!" He gasped, taking in a breath when they broke apart for a second before returning to each other once more. "Sean, please." He pleaded, needing this.

Renard pulled away just for a moment to ask Nick a very serious question. "Nick, are you sure? Because once we do this you can't back out."

Nick pressed his lips firmly against Renard's, grinding himself against the older man. "Shut up, you're thinking too much. I want this and I will never want to back out."

Renard, whose control was slipping very quickly, replied in a low, gravelly voice, "You might."

Nick stared into the Royal's eyes, making sure the man could see the trust and determination in them. "I will never regret my decisions, Sean, and I especially will never regret you." He smiled through his lusty haze. "I trust you."

Any control Renard might have had went out the metaphorical window at this point. He pressed his lips firmly against his Mate's, slamming the smaller man's body against the door in the process. Nick moaned at the mixture of pain and pleasure, wondering briefly where his sudden masochism came from, but didn't think too much more on the topic as Renard was making quick work of his clothes. Besides, he was pretty sure that anything Renard did at this point would make him scream.

They ended up stumbling through the apartment to Renard's bedroom, Nick's clothes strewn throughout the living area. Nick fell on the bed, completely naked and with Renard hovering over top of him. Renard took that moment to truly admire his Mate's naked flesh. His face was flushed and his eyes were dilated, pure desire gazing back at him. He could smell the powerful lust radiating off the smaller man. As his gaze travelled downward, he memorized with his eyes every inch of the man before him, stopping just long enough to stare at the Grimm's hardened length. Nick felt a bit self-conscious, but before his train of thought could go further down that line, it completely derailed when Renard kissed his way down his body, his mouth latching on to one of his nipples. "Sean!" He moaned aloud.

Nick practically screamed when Renard grabbed his hardened cock and began to stroke him. He closed his mouth and bit his lip to the point of drawing blood so as not to scream, which Renard came up from his attack on the man's nipples to instead attack the man's bloodied lips. Against his lips he heard the Royal say in his low, husky tone, "Don't hold back. I want to hear you."

He complied without much prompting. Renard remembered that most virgins didn't last too long, but the pheromones that the Royal was sending through Nick would make him keep going until the Bond was fully consummated. Renard bit down on his neck and moved his hand down his shaft in such a way that had Nick's toes curling. For the first and certainly not the last time that night, Nick came with a loud cry.

Nick barely had time to catch his breath before Renard had removed his pants and shirt and was back on top of his Mate, pushing three his fingers towards Nick's lips. "Suck."

Nick complied by opening his mouth, coating his fingers with his saliva and swirling his tongue around the long, slender digits. Nick never took his eyes off Renard's as he did so, making the Royal see how wonderful his Mate would look with his lips around his cock.

Deeming his fingers prepared, he pulled them from Nick's mouth, who gasped for air. That gasp turned into a whimper as he was breached for the first time in his life. Renard knew it would hurt, but he also knew that it would get better. To soothe his Mate, he leaned up to kiss the Grimm and whisper to him to relax. Nick did as he was told and, once his mouth became more relaxed as the Royal moved the slicked digit in and out of him, he added another finger, scissoring them to stretch his tight, virgin hole.

Nick forced himself to relax, though it didn't take much to do so. The pain was mixing with the pleasure he felt, creating a new sensation that Nick had never experienced before. Renard added a third finger and thoroughly stretched him. It wasn't until the Royal moved his fingers a certain way that Nick cried out in sheer pleasure, his half hard cock becoming completely hard as soon as his prostate was grazed. "Sean, please! I need you, Sean!" Nick was begging, but he was long past the point of caring.

Renard kept rubbing against that spot inside him until Nick was a trembling mess beneath him. Renard didn't touch his cock the second time his Mate came. Nick was panting when Renard pulled his fingers out of him, whimpering from the loss of contact, but forced his muscles to move when he heard Renard spit into his palm. Nick sat up and pushed Renard back on the bed, making the more dominant Royal growl, thinking Nick was challenging him. But when Nick settled himself between the older man's legs, tentatively licking down the Royal's large cock, he immediately forgot all about it.

The Grimm wondered how exactly Renard's cock was supposed to fit inside him, but he really didn't care too much, his mind overloaded with lust. He wrapped his mouth around the head and swirled his tongue around, tasting the flesh and precome. He slowly bobbed his head up and down, going further down each time, testing how far he could go before his gag reflex kicked in, but it never did. He took Renard to the base and used his tongue to lick the underside as he came back up. Once he returned to the head he swirled his tongue into the slit, then immediately went back down, repeating the motion.

Renard groaned, trying his hardest not to thrust down his Mate's willing throat for fear of hurting him, but when Nick let go of his hips, his body moved on its own, thrusting into Nick's mouth. The Grimm didn't seem phased by this and when Renard's hand moved to grip his hair, he pushed the larger man's hand down, forcing Renard's hand to push him down his shaft. That was all Renard needed to know that Nick was giving him the okay to thrust. Nick pulled off him to take a breath and was right back on his cock, Renard gripping his hair tightly and thrusting past his lips forcefully, using Nick in the most pleasurable of ways. He felt Nick moan around his cock and he had to pull away, the vibrations running up his shaft almost sending him over the edge. He looked down at Nick, a thick trail of saliva leading from the tip of his cock to the man's bloodied bottom lip. Nick looked up at him, his eyes completely hazed over with pure desire, pure want and need.

Renard flipped Nick over so that he was on his hands and knees. Renard made Nick suck on his fingers once more before thrusting them into his hole to make sure the Grimm was truly prepared before Renard pressed his saliva-slicked cock between Nick's cheeks, his head pressing into that tight heat.

Nick's arms gave out finally and his head pressed into the mattress while his ass was in the air for his Mate to take. Renard groaned; Nick was in such a submissive position and he probably didn't even know it. As Renard pressed his cock further into Nick's no longer virgin hole, Nick cried out, whimpering in pain. This hurt a lot worse than his fingers.

When he was fully sheathed inside of Nick, he waited. It felt like an eternity before he felt Nick relax around him just slightly, just enough to let him know he could move. He moved slowly, pulling out until only the head of his cock was inside of Nick before pushing back in quickly. Nick cried out. Turning his head to look at Renard, he saw the man had woged. Gone was the calmer, gentler side of Renard. Right now, Nick was looking at the Royal, and he wanted his Mate.

Nick screamed when Renard thrust in again, rougher and faster. Nick wasn't completely prepared, but the desire to be filled was overriding the pain. In all honesty, the pain was only adding to his pleasure, his unknown, newly-discovered masochism coming forth. Renard gripped Nick's hips hard enough to leave bruises, but that wasn't what was on the forefront of either of their minds. Nick had tears falling down his face; he wasn't sure what was going on, but he felt like he was going to explode and Renard was the only thing keeping him together. His skin was on fire and he needed release, but the Royal wasn't ready to give that to him because just when Nick felt like he was going to come again, Renard wrapped his fingers of one hand around the base of his cock tightly, causing him to scream from the mixture of the overwhelming sensations and the inability to release.

Renard pulled Nick up, the Grimm's back flush against the Royal's chest. He wrapped a hand around his Mate's throat but did not put any pressure against it. It was a sign of trust and submission that Nick allowed him to do this.

They were a sight to behold. They were on their knees in an upward position, the Grimm's back to the Royal's chest. Renard had one hand gripped on the base of Nick's cock, the other hand around his throat, pushing his submissive's jaw upwards so the Royal could force his tongue down his Mate's throat. Nick's hands were gripping behind him at Renard's hips, forcing the Man's cock inside him even deeper. Nick was begging now, begging his Mate to let him come, but Renard wasn't going to allow it. He growled loudly against Nick's lips, saying without words, "You'll come when I tell you that you can."

Renard thrust in impossibly harder and faster, hitting Nick's prostate with each push inward. He could tell his Mate was getting close. Nick was gasping for air when Renard released his lips to suck on his neck. The hand that was on his neck rubbed against his chest, claws of the woged Royal scratching down the expanse. Nick moaned at the pain though, by now, his moans had become loud screams.

Nick arched his neck further, baring his throat for Renard. Between the heat surrounding his cock, the screams his Mate was releasing, the scent of his Grimm overflowing his every sense, and the sight of Nick offering his neck so willingly, Renard released his grip against his Mate's cock and whispered, "Come for me."

Nick came so hard his vision blacked out for a second after he screamed Renard's name at the top of his lungs. When he blinked his vision into focus again he felt Renard thrust into his over sensitive, pulsing hole a few more times before he sank his teeth into the Grimm's throat until his sweet blood filled his mouth and released a massive amount of cum deep inside of Nick.

Nick could no longer hold himself up. Renard used his remaining strength to hold the both of them still for a moment, still connected in the most intimate way. Nick whimpered when Renard pulled out, finally feeling the pain all over his body. Both too tired to care, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms, still covered in the mess of their coupling.

The Mate Bond had officially been consummated. Nick and Renard were now the Kings of Portland, but their political business could wait. For now they were just Nick Burkhardt and Sean Renard, a couple. Not Kings, not a Royal and a Grimm, just a couple.

Even in their sleep they were smiling, knowing instinctually who they were lying next to and who they would be lying next to for the remainder of their lives.

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><p><strong>Have I done a disclaimer? I don't know if I've done a disclaimer. I might have, but I'm terrible at remembering things. I don't own Grimm. <strong>

**So, who loves Adalind?**


	5. Pain, Fear, and Nervousness

**Merry ChristmasKwanzaaHanukkahYuleSaturnalia and a Happy New Year! I'm uploading 3 chapters today!**

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><p>Renard was the first to wake the next morning. He was confused for a moment when he felt the steady rise and fall of someone else's breathing, but when he looked down, he smiled softly when he realized it was only Nick, passed out practically on top of him. He could get used to this. Having his Mate sleeping on his chest like this was a perfect way to wake up every morning. He wrapped his arms around his Mate and almost went back to sleep. Almost.<p>

It was then that he smelled the blood, Nick's blood.

He shook Nick gently, but enough to get a groggy response. "Mm…" He muttered.

"Nick, wake up."

Nick tried to open his eyes several times before they finally stayed open. If Renard wasn't so worried he would think it was cute. As coherence came back to him, so did the pain, but it wasn't an overwhelming kind of pain. It was more like a pleasant reminder of what happened.

Though, when Renard moved his hand between his cheeks to check for blood, he winced. They would not be doing that again for a while. Renard sighed a little in relief when there was no blood on his fingers. He didn't hurt Nick that way, though he was sure the Grimm was more than sore, so where was the scent of fresh blood coming from?

Nick tried to sit up, but sitting was apparently not an option right now and ended up flat on his back with an unmanly yelp when he tried to sit. Renard looked at Nick's chest and neck in horror of what he'd done. "Nick…"

Nick blinked, then looked down. There were cuts from where Renard's claws had torn into his skin and dark bruises on his hips from where Renard had gripped them too hard. There were cuts from claws along his jaw line and his bottom lip was slightly bruised from where Nick had bit it at one point. But the most notable wound was the bite mark on his neck, which had two fresh trickles of blood trailing down his chest from each of the puncture holes. The mark had scabbed over in the night, but when Nick moved, it reopened them.

Sean silently leaned over, running his tongue over the mark, knowing that his saliva would significantly support the healing process of his Mate. It would scar, but that was the point. It was his mark, his claim on Nick. Now every single wesen Nick encountered would know that he was taken.

He then ran his tongue along every gash and cut that his Mate had on his body, allowing his saliva to pass through into his body to help the process. Nick was blushing as Renard continued his tender act.

Once he was finished, he placed a sweet kiss to Nick's lips. He eyed his Mate sadly. "Sean?" Nick questioned, his voice almost gone from screaming too much. It also probably didn't help his vocal chords too much having Renard's dick down his throat, but he didn't want to overthink that right now. It was not the time to be aroused. Right now his Mate seemed worried about something.

"Nick, I hurt you…"

Nick tried to clear his throat, but it didn't help much. "It's more of a pleasant ache," He said, smiling. Then, seeing Renard's unconvinced glare, he added more seriously, "I promise you that if it hurt overwhelmingly, you would know."

Renard leaned over Nick, careful of his sore areas, and kissed him gently, sweetly. Nick smiled against his lips, feeling the emotions Renard felt for him through the kiss. The Grimm gasped, however, when those emotions flooded his every sense as if he were physically feeling Renard's powerful emotions along with his own. The strange feeling only grew stronger as they languidly shared a morning kiss. "Sean?" Nick questioned after a moment, panting as the feelings overwhelmed him. "Do you…"

Renard laid down again, pulling Nick close to him. "Yeah, Nick. I can feel it, too. It's a part of the Bond. It connects two people in a lot of ways. This is just one of them," he said. At Nick's confusion, he continued. "For example, I know without looking at your face that you're confused. You're also a bit tired, very happy and in some sort of mild pain."

Nick nodded, amazed at this new development. He thought about it for a moment, then realized that he could feel Renard too. It was similar to searching for his magickal core, yet different. While his core was within him, Renard was within him and all around him. It was like Renard had filled every hole Nick had. He blushed at the wording, but he felt that it fit. Looking at his Mate, he felt like there was an invisible cord that attached them to each other, connected them in a way that was unique to them alone.

He let his mind follow that cord until his senses were suddenly overwhelmed again with Renard's own emotions. "You're worried about something, Sean. You're overwhelmingly happy about something and feeling… guilty? Why are you feeling guilty?" Nick asked.

Renard blushed. "It's nothing."

Nick smirked. "Now I'm curious. Tell me." Renard said nothing. "Please?" Nick asked with just a smidge of pleading in his tone.

Renard glared. His Mate knew exactly how to get him to cave. That kicked puppy look always did him in. _I'm going to need to build some sort of resistance to that…_ He thought offhandedly. "You're going to think I'm an idiot." He said, trying to fend off the inevitable.

Nick laughed. "I already think that." The Grimm only laughed harder when his Mate's glare deepened. "Seriously, Sean. Tell me. I promise I won't think you're an idiot."

Renard stared at Nick, the Grimm's eyes were so full of trust. The words slipped from his lips before he could do anything about it. "I took your virginity."

Nick blinked. In his defense, he really tried not to laugh. It just escaped. "Okay, I take that promise back. You're an idiot." Renard grumbled and was just about to climb out of bed when Nick pulled him back down. "But you're my idiot and therefore I have to teach you that when you make a stupid comment I will be right there to correct you." He said, a smile on his face. "Is it really so bad? I've heard that a lot of people have some kind of strange fetish for virgins."

Renard chuckled. "It's not that, I assure you. It's merely a personal code of mine."

"What code would that be?"

"You have to understand that I was born in a very different time. When I was just learning about Mates and the proper way to court an individual, sex was not an option until after marriage," Renard explained, looking away from Nick.

Nick's expression changed to that of realization. "Oh! Okay! I get it. I do. I really should have thought of that before…" He trailed off. "I'm sorry for making you break your moral code…"

Renard stared blankly at Nick. "Don't apologize for that, Nick. Not only would the Bond not allow us to wait that long, I don't think _I_ could wait that long."

Nick just laughed. "You know it's different now, right? I'm not going to get stoned or whatever because you slept with me before marriage."

Renard laughed. "I sure hope not. I would have to kill a lot of people and that is just too much paperwork to have to deal with."

Nick should have been put off, but he just found it funny.

They laid with each other for a few moments longer before Nick turned to Renard with a face that clearly said, "I want something and you can get it for me."

Renard sighed. "What do you want, Nick?"

"Bath water?" He asked, a faux innocent smile on his face.

"I'll get it running." Renard kissed Nick, who smiled truthfully against his lips. The older man got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom knowing fully well that Nick was admiring his naked form.

Nick watched his Mate go into the bathroom and heard the water begin to run. When Renard walked back in he took his time admiring the man before him. He was bigger than Nick in every sense of the word. He was taller and more muscular, not to mention the man's cock. Renard was the definition of perfection, making Nick suddenly wonder what the Royal saw in him.

Nick was small. He wasn't wiry, but he was significantly more slender than the man before him. Where Renard had large, defined muscles Nick had toned subtlety. Nick was going to voice his thoughts but Renard beat him to it. "You are thinking about something," he began as he crawled back into bed. "I can see something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

"Am I attractive?" Nick said bluntly. He blushed. "I mean… Wow… That could've come out better…"

Renard chuckled. "Of course you are, Nick."

The Grimm waved his hand flippantly. "You're bias. You have to think that."

"Do you not think you're attractive? Because I assure you, Nick. You are beautiful."

Nick blushed. It seemed his embarrassment would not let him close his mouth. "I'm really thin though… I'm not lanky or anything, but I don't hold a candle to… to…" He waved his hand in Renard's direction.

Renard glared at Nick, though the inner Royal practically howled at the compliment from his Mate. "Me? Nick, you are fine the way you are." He smirked at his next statement. "If you must know, I prefer to have a smaller partner. It makes sex a lot easier."

Nick blushed. "You've turned me into a teenaged girl, you know that, right?" He said, remembering all their previous discussions.

Renard grinned. "I'm pretty sure I would remember if you were a girl, Nick. Though, with as much as you screamed last night, I can see why you would think that."

A red-faced Nick slapped Renard's arm, who just laughed and got out of bed. "Go turn the water off, Jackass!"

Several minutes later showed Renard washing Nick's body to get the excess blood off his skin. The Grimm protested at first, about to say that he could do it himself, but seeing the expression on his Mate's face made him stop. This was Renard's way of allowing him to forgive himself for hurting Nick and, though the smaller man did not see what Renard did as hurting him, he let him continue.

Eventually Renard left Nick to clean himself to get ready for work. Nick had the day off so that he could be sure he was fully healed from the Royals' attack on him, but Nick knew he was fine. He told Renard he was going to head over to the trailer and that he'd see him later.

Nick felt abnormally like a housewife after giving Renard a goodbye kiss, but he kept that thought to himself for fear of the joke he knew the older man would make. _I never knew Sean had a joking side, _he thought absentmindedly, his lips turned towards a smile at the thought of his Mate.

In the trailer, Nick had time to think. In the past few weeks he somehow managed to find out he was Sean Renard's Mate, was attacked by said Mate's family, found out he was a Witch, and lost his virginity. He thought about the last part for a minute. It wasn't the fact that he'd lost his virginity that stopped him; he was a grown man, no matter how much he compared himself to a teenaged girl. It was more about what being Mated to Renard meant. He rubbed at the mark of the claim idly, remembering the moment he received it with startling clarity.

His body still felt the subtle ache from the previous night. In the privacy of the trailer and without the worried eyes of his Mate watching him he would finally admit that he was in more pain than he said he was, but it was quite a surprise to him to feel the pain was a massive turn on. He never thought of himself as a masochist but, as a detective, he wasn't one to ignore the facts. He figured he ought to do what he'd always done: let the facts lead him wherever they took him. If that meant another round of passionate sex with Renard then Nick just got the good end of this deal.

His mind wondered briefly to the Royal family and what they had planned. Apparently the Royals wanted him for some purpose. It made his skin crawl to know that they were trying to use him to take back the countries. He wondered how a war like that would go. He wasn't much of a war strategist, but he figured the Royals already had a lot of their people in politics so it wouldn't be that hard for them to take the world back. It was merely getting it out there that wesen were real to start something. Humans would think that the wesen were dangerous and turn against the wesen, making the wesen turn to the Royals for support. It would merely be the outcome of a war between the Royals and the human military that would ultimately determine the rulers of the world.

A more dangerous thought entered Nick's mind. Would he have to choose a side? He knew he couldn't physically do that, but if it all came down to his decision, would he be forced to choose? On one hand were the humans. He was born with Grimm blood, yet he was raised amongst humans. Hank, Wu, and Juliette were his lifelong friends, friends he'd had long before becoming a Grimm. But Nick also knew how humans fought. They used their intelligence to outsmart the enemy. They would ultimately use Nick to be their own, 'Grimm-o-pedia,' as Monroe had so graciously put it at one point. The Blutbad was referring to himself at this particular time, but it still fit, regardless of context.

On the other hand were the Royals and the wesen. Monroe and Rosalie were his closest wesen friends. Adalind had become an impromptu acquaintance and even Meisner, though Nick wasn't completely certain he was wesen, had become a kind of strange ally. But the Royals were different. They wanted him for their purpose and he had to stay away at all costs.

So who would Nick side with? Both sides would just take him and use him. Deep down, he knew that's what war was. It was a battle of resources. Whoever had the best and the most at their disposal would win, but Nick really didn't know if he could make himself choose. If the wesen won, there's no telling what would happen to the human population, let alone his human friends. If the humans won, he had no doubt in his mind that they would kill every wesen they got ahold of once they won the war. That meant Monroe, Rosalie, Adalind, Meisner, and Renard.

And here he was again. Nick laughed humorlessly. _It always comes back to you, doesn't it, Sean?_ He thought. Where would his Mate pledge his allegiance? Would he side with the humans? Humans who would find out he had wesen and Royal blood and ultimately want to kill him? Nick doubted that. Then, would the man ultimately side with the family that rejected him? If Renard had nowhere else to go, would he choose his family?

If his Royal did end up choosing his family, would Nick be forced to go with him? The Grimm shook his head. Instinctually he knew the Bond didn't work like that and neither did his Mate. His Royal was much too prideful to choose his family, so what could they do?

Nick rubbed his eyes, a headache beginning to form behind them. There were way too many questions to even begin to attempt answering them. He would just have to see how everything played out in the end before he made any decisions.

The Grimm wondered how his ancestor even made this decision. Philipp Grimm had a Hexenbiest wife, so he figured he most likely had a similar dilemma. He sighed, wishing he had Philipp's diplomatic creativity.

His thoughts of Philipp drifted towards the Grimm keys. He went over a pulled the box from its hiding place in the hidden compartment on the floor of the trailer. He personally installed it himself, wanting to add his own piece to the trailer of his ancestors' collection. Then, on his keychain was the seventh and final key. He knew there was a map printed on the keys so he figured he could figure out what that map was while he was here. It was his original reason for coming here, after all.

He dipped the keys in ink, putting the maps together in a logical picture on a blank piece of paper. It took him a couple tries; he wasn't sure what the exact order was, but he eventually was able to create a picture. It was some kind of map that led to a spot in the center of The Black Forest in Germany. He ran his fingers over the ink, wondering for a moment what was there. It was only for a moment, however, because when he touched the ink it began to glow in a blinding silver light. He watched as the keys began to melt on his desk and morph into something else entirely.

It was like the melted key mixture was alive. It was moving towards his hand, which was still on the table. Nick forced himself not to panic when he realized he could not move. Once the melted keys touched his hand, Nick felt a weird feeling as his skin seemingly absorbed the keys.

Suddenly Nick couldn't get enough air. It felt like lava was coursing through his veins instead of blood. Pure pain pulsed through his entire being and he screamed in agony. It only got worse from this point on. It felt as if someone was carving into his flesh with a jagged, burning knife. He couldn't stop screaming. It hurt so much. Right before he blacked out on the floor of the cluttered trailer, he cried out the name of the only person he thought could help him.

"SEAN!"

Renard was having a really bad day. He had forgotten about the meeting he was supposed to have with the mayor today about the current state of the city. The mayor of Portland, while he had good intentions, was getting on his nerves. The man didn't have to meet with him every damn month. Renard would tell him if something was happening.

Okay, he probably wouldn't, but come on. The Royal had a lot better things he could be doing right now. For example, he could be sitting at home with Nick doing nothing in particular. Or he could simply be doing Nick, but judging by how sore the man was earlier he wasn't going to push his luck on that one. If the mayor weren't in front of him, he would have smirked at the memory of Nick writhing and moaning beneath him.

He also couldn't push off the feeling that something was wrong. His instincts were usually never wrong so this was worrying him much more than if someone had told him about a massive explosion down the street. He couldn't help but think of Nick, wondering if this had something to do with him. Now, normally he would simply call the Grimm to ease his fears, at the very least call his Blutbad friend to find out where the man was, but here he was, in a meeting with the annoying mayor of Portland.

Hence why Renard was having a really bad day.

The moment the mayor left Renard pulled out his phone to dial Nick's number. His heart dropped when he didn't get an answer. He tried to calm himself, attempting to tell himself that Nick might have fallen asleep in the trailer; they did have a long night previously. But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Suddenly, his vision blurred for a moment before a searing pain tore through him. He had to hold his body up on his desk to keep from falling to the ground. He head was in the most pain and he almost cried out from the force of it. This went on for several seconds before the pain was gone, only to be replaced by a force more severe than any pain he could possibly encounter: terror.

He heard Nick scream his name in his head. It was so loud and so pain-wrecked that he was grabbing his jacket, keys, and was out the door in record time.

Hank, meanwhile, watched his captain leave with mild curiosity. Wu beat him to the vocal punch. "What's got the captain in a rush? Did he forget to tell the mayor how awesome we are?" He laughed at his own joke.

"While I appreciate your love of your own terrible sense of humor, I doubt it. Something must have happened." Hank said distractedly.

The Asian man smirked. "Maybe it has to do with Nick being gone today. No one gave us a reason why he's been out all week." Then Wu smirked. "I won the bet. I know I did."

Hank glared but, sadly, his friend was right. Still, he had to lie for fear of the relationship between the captain and his partner getting out. _If I let that slip, I know I would die. I'm just not sure who would kill me._ "I doubt Captain Renard is running off for Nick, Wu."

Little did Wu know Hank was thinking exactly that.

"Listen, Wu," Hank began. "I gotta get going. There's a case that I've got to start working on. I can't wait for Nick on this one."

Wu nodded. "Go detect, Detective."

Hank was already walking away. Whatever had the captain practically running out the station obviously had something to do with Nick. Hank wasn't sure what he would be walking into, but just because Nick had some creature friends and a really powerful boyfriend – and isn't that weird to be calling Renard Nick's boyfriend – didn't mean that Hank didn't have his back, too. Hank and Nick were partners. He wasn't about to leave him be when something could be wrong.

So, Hank followed his captain out the door, calling the man as he drove.

"What is it, Griffin?" Renard said, trying to sound professional, though his voice shook just slightly.

"Well, considering you're going well over the speed limit I would assume something happened to my partner. Now are you going to tell me what's wrong or should I pull over my boss for speeding?"

Renard growled over the phone. This man would not stop him from finding Nick. He would kill him before that happened. He forced himself to calm down; Hank was using humor to calm his own nerves. "I don't know what's wrong quite yet, but I am certain that something is wrong."

Hank nodded even though he knew Renard couldn't see him. "Okay. Where are we going?"

"Nick said he was going to the trailer today. That's where I'm going to look."

"I'll follow you and call the spice shop to give Monroe and Rosalie a heads up." Hank laughed, but even Renard could tell he was worried. "Nick sure is getting himself into a lot of trouble these days."

There was silence over the phone before Renard spoke again. "I will meet you there, Detective."

"Captain, you know I do have a first name, right?"

"I'll meet you there, _Hank._" Renard muttered and hung up. If humans were under his rule he would surely have reprimanded that one by now. He had to give it to his Mate, however. The man sure knew how to pick loyal friends, even if they were full of sarcasm.

Once they reached the trailer and got out of their cars, Renard could immediately smell Nick in the trailer. He opened the door and the sight before him made him stop dead in his tracks, his heart sinking.

Nick was on the ground, unconscious. His breathing was labored; he sounded similar to an asthmatic. His body was shaking as if he were recently dumped in a bathtub full of ice.

As Renard got closer he saw strange markings on his Mate's flesh. The long sleeves on his jacket and pants covered most of them but he could see the markings peeking out onto the backs of his hands, up his neck, and on the sides of his face. Renard tentatively reached out for Nick, hoping to help him up, but the moment Renard touched the smaller man his eyes opened and he started grabbing at his chest, a sure sign that he couldn't breathe.

The man was panicking, Renard could tell. He tried his best to stay calm, but his heart was already pounding. "Nick, calm down." He tried to soothe the man, but he had this look of fear. He was looking right at Renard but at the same time wasn't seeing him at all.

Finally, after several calls of the Grimm's name, Renard grabbed the sides of Nick's face and forced the man to really look at him. "Nick! Look at me!" He said. The man stopped his franticness and stared at Renard. He was listening, though the Royal could still see the fear in his wide, gray eyes. "Nick," he began calmly. "Breathe. You're okay. Everything is going to be alright."

Nick took a shaky breath. "S-S-Sean?" There was hardly any sound, but Renard heard it.

"Yeah, Nick. It's me."

Nick stared for a moment, finally registering who he was looking at, where he was, and what had happened. He buried his face into Renard's shoulder, trying to hold back his tears. "Sean, we have to go… We… Something's going to happen if we don't go now!"

Renard just held him tighter, thinking that Nick's words were merely said in his panic. "Nick, calm down. We'll work through this, okay? I'll be right there with you every step of the way, okay? I promise, but we need to find out what happened here first." Even the Royal was on the verge of tears. His Mate was scared. He was scared for his Mate. They had no idea what was going on. They needed answers.

After several moments of silence with the exception of Nick's breathing returning to normal, Sean decided to ask what had just transpired in the trailer. "Nick, what happened?" He asked quietly.

When he received no answer he thought that Nick was hurt again, but when he looked down he saw that the Grimm was passed out. Effortlessly he lifted him and Nick up in his arms to carry him to the car. He could tell that Nick was okay somehow so he muttered to Hank that the spice shop was unnecessary. Before he left the trailer, however, he saw the completed map that the keys marked out. _Whatever happened to Nick must be because of the keys._ He thought. He looked around briefly, but the keys were nowhere to be found. _What the Hell is going on?_ He wondered. Deciding to take the picture of the map, he did just that and carried Nick to his car, telling Hank to get Monroe to drive the Grimm's truck to his apartment.

Once orders were given and assurances that Nick was okay were told, the exhausted Royal drove and carried Nick to his apartment and laid him down for bed. He undressed the unconscious Grimm down to his boxer briefs and he undressed as well. Once he had both of them in bed Renard noted that it was already dark out. It seemed like today went so fast. When his unconscious Grimm scooted closer to him, however, he wrapped his arms around him protectively and forgot about the time of day as he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Renard awoke about an hour later. He was gasping for air and clutching at his chest while covered in his own sweat. He couldn't remember what his nightmare had been about, but he instinctually looked at the sleeping form beside him to make sure he was still there, still breathing, still alive.

And he was. The Grimm was under the blankets and curled into Renard warm body, though he was still shaking. Worried, Renard pressed his palm against his forehead. Much to his dismay, Nick was fevered. He's probably stressed his body to the point of making himself sick…

The Royal, though tired, quickly slipped out of bed before going to the bathroom for some medicine, a glass of water, and a thermometer. His Mate whimpered in his troubled sleep at the loss, but did not wake. When Renard returned, he sat beside the sleeping Grimm and watched him for a while.

Nick wasn't breathing nearly as bad as he was in the trailer but, considering his fever, his breaths were a bit labored, coming out in quick puffs instead of slow exhales. His skin was covered in sweat and those strange markings. Renard studied them closely. Before going to bed he had stripped Nick of his jacket. The bare flesh of his arms, neck and face had tattoo-like markings that were a cross between Celtic and tribal. He gently pulled Nick's wrist to him to study the markings closer. He smiled sadly as he ran a hand through his Mate's hair with his free hand. Either Nick was just that deep a sleeper or Nick really was sick.

Turning back to the marks, he rubbed his fingers softly along the thick, black lines. Nick whimpered in his sleep. Renard quickly pulled away his fingers from the mark. Renard could sense the pain Nick felt from his touch, but he forced himself to rub the marks again. He felt something odd on Nick's skin. Almost like…

Renard growled low. The lines were burned into his flesh.

That was why he was so sensitive. These markings had been burned into his Mate's flesh and he was in pain. The Royal inside screamed its distaste. He would rip apart the person who did this to Nick.

Nick groaned low and slow. Renard stared in worry at his Mate. He waited for a moment to see if he would wake up. Slowly but surely, Nick opened his eyes, wincing when the pain shot through him like a thousand stab wounds through every pore. "Sean…" He whispered.

"Nick, I'm here. What do you need?"

Nick mumbled something, but Renard didn't hear it.

"What was that?" He said gently.

He mumbled again, but Renard still didn't hear him. However, the Royal did notice that he was pulling at his shirt with his hands. It dawned on the older man what Nick needed. His clothes were probably bothering the burns. Slowly and carefully he helped Nick sit up and take off each article of clothing until Nick was completely naked. Renard briefly noted that the cuts across his chest were completely healed. The soft silk of his bed must have felt wonderful to the Grimm because he curled into the sheets, completely ignoring the cotton comforter.

"Nick, I need to take your temperature. Can you sit up?"

The Grimm reached for Renard, signaling that he would need help. So, Renard helped his Mate sit up once more and stuck the thermometer in his mouth. The numbers shot up quickly until it read one number, signaling that Nick had a high fever. The smaller man went to lie down again, but Renard held him up. "Nick, one more thing. You need to take some medicine. It'll help lower your fever and take away some of your pain."

Nick nodded slowly. He looked into Renard's eyes, silently asking for help. His body was so weak. He couldn't do much right now. Somehow Renard knew exactly what he was asking and replied with, "You don't have to ask. I'll always be here, Nick."

Renard placed the pills onto Nick's tongue when he opened his mouth, then placed the water at his lips and drank slowly. As if that was the hardest thing he could ever do, Nick leaned into Renard, quickly falling back asleep.

The Royal really did try to sleep, but it seemed he just couldn't. Just when he was about to sleep, a noise of some sort would make him think there was yet another threat coming after his Mate and he would jolt back awake. Finally, after several hours of this battle he knew he would lose, he got out of bed and went to sit at the table in his kitchen after he made himself some coffee.

He knew Nick had taken the Witch thing a little too well. The guy had just come to terms with being a Grimm and now he was a Witch too? He figured Nick was just going with the flow and taking whatever life threw at him, and maybe that was originally true with his Witch heritage.

In the trailer, however, it was a different story. Nick was scared. Nick was hurt. Something happened in that trailer and until Nick got better he wouldn't know what that was. He didn't have a direction this time. Usually, when someone he cared about (Nick) was hurt, there was a physical being involved. He could focus his energy and time on finding whoever did this and do whatever the situation called for. Now? Now he was stuck. He knew that it was unlikely that somebody had attacked Nick, which means something along the lines of magick happened in that trailer, but in order to know for certain, he had to wait.

Whoever made up the phrase, "Good things happen to those who wait," was a monumental idiot that didn't take into consideration the insanity that came along with waiting.

Nick was in his room, in his bed, suffering. Through the Bond he could feel the pain. He didn't feel it as severely as Nick, but if it still hurt him like this then Nick must be in agony. Renard glared at his coffee cup. Weren't they just laughing this morning after the most amazing night he'd ever experienced? It didn't make sense. Why was this happening to Nick? "Why?" He asked no one in particular. "He's a kind soul. Why are you torturing him?" His voice was quivering and he didn't bother to hide the tears. "Why can't you just leave him alone?"

He didn't know who "you" was, but he needed something, anything to let his frustrations go.

He was going to stand up and go back to the room to be with Nick, but something caught his eye. It was the map. He looked at it for a minute, staring at the ink picture. Whatever this was, it was in the Black Forest. He reminisced for a moment, remembering the times when he was on the run with his mother. They must have run all around the Black Forest a thousand times. He knew it was illogical to think that they would run into wherever this place was, as the forest was massive, but so was this… "Bibliothek der Ritter?" He said to himself. "Library of the Knights?"

He'd never heard of such a library in Germany, but apparently it was located in the Black Forest. He went to his computer and searched for any libraries that might be similar, but those that were anywhere near close were not in a relatively close location. He looked at the map again. He was intrigued. Maybe there was some kind of history on the area? "Maybe a fire?"

Renard researched as much as he could about everything he could find. A lot of it was a mere refresher of what he'd already known and witnessed, but some things that happened in the area happened long before he was born. He researched well into the night. In fact, the sun was shining through his windows when something made him look up.

"You'll get a headache if you stare at the screen too long. Not to mention back problems from your poor posture. Jeez, Sean. I thought you were nobility? Aren't you supposed to be prim and proper?"

Renard turned his head to see Nick leaning in the doorway in nothing but his underwear. "Nick!" Renard yelled. "You should be in bed!"

"So should you." He countered.

Renard set his laptop aside and quickly ran to Nick. He was careful to touch his skin, which Nick was immensely grateful for. "It's still sore," the Grimm began. "But it's significantly more manageable than earlier."

Renard got a good look at the markings as Nick stood in front of him. They twisted around every part of his body like vines wrapped tightly around a tree. He just hoped the "vines" didn't kill him.

Renard cupped Nick's cheek with one hand, careful of the marks on his face. "Nick…"

The Grimm smiled. "I'm okay."

Renard stared at the ground, not daring to look at Nick. The Grimm turned his face to look at him, worry etched in his features. "Sean, hey. I'm sorry I worried you."

It was then that the Royal noticed the tears sliding down his face. "I… Nick… I was terrified…" Then he realized what Nick had said. "Don't apologize for something like that. Whatever happened was not your fault." He whispered.

Nick scratched the back of his head, wincing slightly when the movement hurt the marks that were burned into him. "It might be…"

Renard glared. "What did you do?"

"Well, it's not exactly my fault; I didn't actually know anything would happen. I took the keys and made the map, but when I touched the map it began to glow. I was paralyzed for a moment and I watched the keys melt into some kind of melted goo and it latched onto my hand and my body somehow absorbed the keys…" Nick sighed when he saw Renard's expression. "I'm not lying, okay?"

"Nick, I believe you. You wouldn't have any reason to lie. I just think this is all really strange."

Nick nodded his agreement. "Well, I remember the feeling like my skin was on fire, though it felt more like someone was cutting me with a hot knife. Then that light got brighter and I had that weird vision."

"Vision?"

Nick shook his head. "It was probably nothing. It might have been a dream."

"Nick, you are a Witch. If your gut is telling you it's a vision, you might want to focus on it."

Nick nodded absentmindedly. "Well, it kind of made sense, to be honest. I thought it was weird when you told the story about Philipp Grimm that the humans just knew that the wesen were wesen. In my vision I saw that you didn't have to be a Grimm to see wesen. You just could.

"I watched some people gather for some kind of meeting. They were shrouded, like it wasn't about the people so much as it was about the event itself. They spoke, but it was all in what sounded like German, but I only caught pieces of it and it didn't sound _exactly_ like German." Nick shook his head to stop his ramble. "But I watched the event further until the ceremony began.

"I knew one of them was casting a spell of some sort, because he suddenly started talking in English though, I suspect I had some kind of magickal translator because what he was saying didn't match his mouth.

"I watched him cast a spell on the entirety of the human race. I saw people panicking because they couldn't see wesen anymore. It was like a veil was put over their eyes, preventing them from seeing the truth." Nick was thoughtful for a moment. "I think that's how the Grimms were born. It's not that we have a magick that allows us to see the truth; it's the rest of the human race that is unable to see the truth."

Renard considered this for a moment. He knew this made sense, but he wasn't exactly sure what this meant. If it was a spell that created the rift between wesen and humans, then a spell could destroy it, too. If, somehow, the veil was destroyed it could be disastrous for both sides.

Nick watched Renard, waiting patiently for any kind of response. He could see that the older man was processing his words carefully. Suddenly, a wave of fear that was not his own washed over him. "Sean?" He questioned when he saw the expression on his Mate's face.

Renard ran a hand through his hair, wondering how he had become so monumentally stupid. "Nick, do you trust me?"

The Grimm considered this. They might have only been together for a week or so, but he'd known Renard for a lot longer than that. "Of course I do."

"Then I'm going to need you to call your friends and get as many of them to pack their things. On, second thought, tell them only to bring absolute essentials. I'll take care of everything else, but we all need to go now."

Nick followed Renard into the bedroom and watched as Renard pulled out a fully packed bag, as if he was prepared for this moment. "Sean, what is going on? What are you talking about? Where are we going? Why?"

Sean turned to Nick and pulled him into a heart-stopping kiss. Nick felt the panic and the fear as well as the determination. "Sean?" He asked again.

"Go call them." He said vaguely.

"I'm going to at least have to give Monroe something more than a, 'hey Monroe. My boyfriend just said we're going to go somewhere. I don't know where it is or how long we're staying, either. Oh, and you can't pack anything but the necessities.'"

Renard nodded. Nick was right. He had to give them something more. "Germany."

Nick blinked. "Excuse me, but what?"

"Tell them we're going to Germany."

Nick was going to protest, saying that this was a terrible idea and stupid and just downright _insane_, but Renard's tentative question came back to him, the question, _do you trust me_, floating around in his mind. So, deciding to swallow his questions for another time, he merely nodded and grabbed his cell phone.

_Well, this will be an interesting few hours_… He thought to himself as he dialed Monroe's number. Whatever was going through the Royal's mind right now must not be good, but Nick would leave him to the planning for now. He would just have to trust him.

Nick was taken from his thoughts upon hearing Monroe's "cheery" greeting. "Hey, Nick. It's always _so_ wonderful to get a call from you at seven in the morning. You're lucky I'm up for my Pilates. What's up?"

Nick sighed. Now or never… "Hey, Monroe," he laughed nervously. "I need to ask you a tiny favor."

"The way you say 'tiny' makes me wonder whether I should hang up now."

Nick laughed nervously again. "Ah, yeah. About that. Tell me honestly. How fluently can you _really_ speak German?"

* * *

><p><strong>Just so you all know, my German is a little rusty, as I don't know any German. Anything that is wrong with the German things in here is all because of Google translate and the fact that I know Spanish, not German.<strong>

**What is this Library, hmm?**


	6. Wu Knows All

**I tried everything I could, but I wasn't a big fan of this chapter. I feel like it was slow and boring... But, here it is.**

* * *

><p>It took about three months to get their things together.<p>

It wasn't that they needed time to pack; that happened in about thirty seconds once Nick had thoroughly convinced Hank, Juliette, Monroe, and Rosalie that he needed their help. It wasn't that they were nervous or scared; there was plenty of that to go around so fear and nervousness should be a given by now. It was the intricacies that needed time and careful planning.

First, Monroe and Rosalie had to find people to cover the spice shop and tell Monroe's clients that he would be going on a vacation with his wife. That had taken some explaining on Monroe's part, especially to his more time-consumed clients. He assured them he would take care of everything once he got back, but that he had to take some time off.

Juliette didn't have too much of a problem getting off work. Her problem was her apartment. Payments on the house would still have to be made and without a steady paycheck she would lose her house and everything in it. Of course, Renard assured her and everyone else that he would cover that. Nick was, of course awe-inspired by his Mate's generosity.

Hank, Nick, and Renard had the most trouble getting off work. They were detectives and a police captain. Renard could get off easily enough with his connections to the higher ups but he couldn't just use his connections to get Hank and Nick off work as well. It would raise too many suspicions. So, they had to wait a while for Nick and Hank to gain some time off. Somehow, much to the Royal's relief, Hank and Nick hardly ever took a day off unless it was forced on them. So, they had a lot of paid off-duty time already saved up.

Another major complication was Renard's territory. If he and Nick left, anyone could take it from them. So, Nick and Renard spent a lot of time tracking down the Royal's sister, hoping she would take temporary control until the two Kings could return.

That was what took so long. Renard's sister was good at hiding, so when Natalia was finally found, she apologized and accepted the offer. Renard, of course, in all his possessive Royal power, threatened his sister, saying not so subtly that if she double crossed him he would be personally knocking down her door to rip her to shreds.

The sister Royal was surprised when the Grimm gave his own scare. She would never say it aloud, especially to her youngest brother, but she was more terrified of the Grimm Witch, knowing of his powerful ancestral line.

Her brother really chose a truly powerful Mate.

The final, most difficult process was giving everyone a story of why they were all on the same plane going to Germany, just in case something was brought up about it when they got home. They decided to take commercial flight instead of Renard's personal aircraft so as not to raise suspicion or the chance of being spotted by the Royal family. The Royal had taken care of passports and any other records needed for the flight. They decided that their story was going to be simple: they needed vacations. They were all close friends and wanted to spend some time together in a country they all could relate to in some way or another.

If they were investigated, Hank and Nick might receive the worst of it, as it might be seen as fraternization because Renard was there, but they were sure that they could argue against that, as they could do what they wished in their off-duty times.

So, after everything had been taken care of, they were now sitting in the Portland terminal, waiting for the plane to arrive to take them all to the Frankfurt, Germany airport.

Renard pulled Nick to the side for a moment, updating him on some news they were waiting on. "I've just been informed that Adalind and Meisner have arrived in Germany and are on their way to get us a safe house. I've got someone else coming with us on this flight to help us with finding the location of the house."

Nick sighed, running a hand through his hair and worrying his bottom lip. In high school he used to bite his bottom lip when he got nervous, but he had forced himself to kick the habit once he joined the force in fear of criminals noticing his apprehension. It seemed that habit decided to resurface. "I'm still worried about Monroe. He's been nervous this whole time and I'm worried he might lose it. I trust him with my life, but I'm not sure I trust him with his."

Renard nodded, chuckling at his Mate's wording. "He will be fine, Nick. I assure you."

Over in the terminal seats, Monroe shouted, "I can still hear you, you know."

Nick blushed, looking sheepish. He walked over to Monroe and spoke his apologies. "I'm sorry, Monroe. I'm just worried about you, I guess…"

"Nick, shut up. You've been trying to find excuses for all of us to leave since the situation was explained. Just tell us all, "I'm worried about you guys and I don't think you should come," in your puppy-eyed Grimm-ness, then in your terrible logic you will explain why it's a bad idea, finally we'll tell you that we're coming along whether you want us to or not and we'll move on. How's that?" Monroe watched his best friend laugh, but could still smell the uneasy nervousness like the plague had attacked the small Grimm. In a rare bout of seriousness, the Blutbad said, "Nick, you shouldn't be nervous. We're here because you're our friend. And, for Rosalie and I…" He trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly. "For Rosalie and I, you're pack." Nick's eyes widened, eternal gratitude showing in their worshipping gleam. "Oh, come on, Nick. You seriously had no idea? Why else would I help you? You forced your way into my life, sent me on life threatening missions, and not to mention all the favors you owe me. Hell, after this you will be doing my bidding until you die.

"But you also introduced me to my wife. You gave me something to focus on other than my self-loathing because of my past. You showed me that not all Grimms are bad. If you still don't think you're pack, think some more. I willingly defended your aunt when it went against everything I believed. I've fought alongside you when the Prince was unable to. I've literally helped you bury bodies.

"So, yes, Nick. You are pack. Now put away your eyes before I end up saying more sappy bullshit." Monroe was bright red at the end of his spiel, but Nick was smiling bright.

Rosalie, Hank, and Juliette had heard the whole thing and were nodding their agreements. "We'll follow you to wherever you take us, Nick." Rosalie said with a soft smile and a look that could only be read as pure trust.

They all chatted idly while they waited. Even Renard joined in with them, telling them stories about the nineteenth century. Hank leaned over to Juliette, whispered something, and pointed at Nick, who was sitting next to the Royal while the older man told a story about an interesting encounter he had with a scientist who thought the world was simply a cardboard box and God was a child playing with his toys. It wasn't so much that story that had Hank and Juliette laughing softly to themselves. It was the soft smile pulling at Nick's lips as the smaller man watched and listened to his Mate tell his tale. It was the barely noticeable entwined hands between the Royal and the Witch. It was the look in the younger man's eyes when his Mate would turn to him. Nick may not know it yet, but he was hopelessly in love with this man.

Juliette giggled into her hand. "Nick is so adorable."

Hank snorted. "Yeah, sure. I wouldn't use adorable." At her put-off look, Hank explained, "I've seen him on day three with no sleep and being the first one to find out the coffee machine broke. That man isn't adorable. He's terrifying."

Juliette looked thoughtful. "I remember in college how he was with no sleep. I imagine it would be terrifying for most people."

"It wasn't for you?" Hank was genuinely shocked.

She shook her head. "Remember, I was in college, too. Nick and I got into some serious fights during no-sleep study binges. It sometimes got so bad that our landlord would have to remove one of us from our apartment."

Hank said nothing, but he must've had a mortified expression on his face as Juliette started laughing loudly.

Monroe, who was sitting on the other side of Nick, leaned in and whispered between the Grimm, his wife, and the Royal. "Twenty bucks says those two are dating." He pointed between Hank and Juliette.

"No!" Nick whispered firmly. "I already have a betting pool with Wu that they have been dating for two months now. No one has ever won a bet against Wu but I'm certain I'll win this. I can't put money in another pool."

Renard cleared his throat. "I have it on good authority that Wu has won that bet."

The two wesen and his Grimm Mate eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean?" Nick asked carefully. "Wu said their dating, but they don't know their dating. How could that possibly be the correct answer?"

"Hey, Nick. Don't worry. I know you tried to beat me and you were pretty close, but no dice," a familiar voice said.

Nick turned to find Sergeant Wu standing in front of him. "Wu?"

"Hey, Nick! Or is it King Nicolas now? I'm too sure what to call you anymore."

Nick blinked. He blinked again. Monroe had a thought pop into his head. Nick's expression clearly said, "Does not compute. Please try again later."

"Sean? What? I don't…"

"Nick, meet Drew Wu, a loyal member of the Laufer and the head of our intelligence." Renard saw Nick's dumbfounded expression and said, "Did you honestly think he didn't know anything about wesen? Who do you think I get my information about parts of the city I rarely see? Adalind?"

Nick stared for a full minute and Monroe laughed, picturing the word, "Recalculating" on his forehead.

Nick took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, turning to Wu, he simply said, "Seriously?" The Asian man took it as his silent acceptance of him as well as his own version of, "I don't even know anymore."

Renard smirked at his Mate. He'd wanted to tell Nick about the Sergeant, but with everything that had happened he hadn't the time. Nick turned to Renard, silently asking why he hadn't been told. They shared a few silent words and exchanges before Nick understood.

Rosalie laughed and the two turned to her. "You two speak in code." The two just turned to each other and the Royal raised an eyebrow. Nick furrowed his brow and shook his head. They silent exchange only added to the humor and they were all laughing at this point.

"So," Nick asked, turning to his former college roommate. "Since Wu got here this thought has been on my mind and it's driving me crazy. I have to know." He pointed between his partner and her. "You and Hank. Are you guys a thing?"

Hank looked at Juliette, both sharing a quick look before nodded. "For about two months now." She said.

Nick's eyes widened before he cheered. "Yes!" He shouted. "Pay up, Wu! I win!"

"Actually, we aren't even sure it's been two months. It could be longer. It just kind of hit us one day. We just fell into that step and now we're here, I guess." Hank explained.

"We were going to say something, but we weren't sure how to explain when we got together in a way that made sense. We aren't even sure it makes sense to us." Juliette continued.

Nick grumbled before pulling out his wallet and handing over a twenty to Wu. "Thank you very much, Grimm. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"So, Renard," Hank began. "How long have you and Nick been together officially?"

"Three months." He said without missing a beat.

Wu smirked as the detective mumbled some heavy profanity before handing over a fifty. "Told you, Griffin. I won that bet. You said they'd been together for seven months."

Nick glared at his partner. "Seven months? Seriously, Hank?"

The man shrugged unapologetically. "You two were eying each other for a lot longer than three months."

Nick blushed and Renard laughed, knowing that what the man said was true. "I told you, Nick. I told you before the Day of Truce formal that there was a bet going around about us." The Royal was still laughing when Nick replied.

"You told me to ask Hank about it! The last time I asked Hank a question about something that wasn't work-related it ended with me wanting to gouge my eyes out!" Nick blushed furiously, remembering that terrible video as if it were burned into his memory.

Renard's laughter died down to a soft, final chuckle and he wrapped his arm around Nick's shoulder and pulled him close so he could kiss the top of his head.

"Aww, ain't you two just adorable!" Wu said in his best southern belle impression, though it was only in half-mockery. The two really were adorable.

After a few more minutes of catching up, they heard the call on the overhead for them to board the plane. "Well, you guys ready?" Nick said.

"Always." Hank said.

The Grimm sighed. "Well, let's get on with it, then."

It was the longest flight Nick had ever experienced. He thought it was bad enough when he flew from New Jersey to Portland. This, however, was awful. It wasn't that Nick was afraid of flying and he didn't get sick on planes. No, the problem was his inability to do anything. Nick didn't like to sit unless he had something to focus his attention on.

This plane ride might also be worse because Renard seemed intent on getting into his pants quite literally in their seats. Nick had brought a blanket to sleep with on the plane so that he could reduce the jet lag as much as possible, but the Royal had other plans that obviously didn't involve sleeping on this plane.

"Sean, stop. Do you realize how many people are around us?" Nick said, slapping Renard's hand away.

The Royal didn't seem put off by this at all. In fact, his smirk grew even wider. "Then be quiet. Besides," he chuckled lowly. "We're in the very back. No one is next to us therefore no one is paying attention."

The Grimm whimpered as the Royal successfully slipped his hand passed the zipper and undone button of his jeans and into his boxers with ease. Nick gasped when he gripped his half-hard cock, slowly stroking it to full attention. "Sean!" Nick wasn't sure if it was him yelling at his Mate or moaning his name.

Renard took it as the latter and continued to stroke him with practiced skill. Nick leaned into the Royal's shoulder, biting down whenever he felt the need to moan. Nick was breathing heavily and whimpering. Moans were still escaping him which brought the concern of one of the flight attendants. "Is he alright, sir?" He said cheerfully, though his voice conveyed concern.

Renard simply nodded as he swiped his thumb over the slit of his Mate's cock, making Nick whimper. "Yes," Renard said in a controlled voice. Nick wasn't sure whether he was embarrassed, angry, or beyond the point of caring. When Renard's hand gripped harder and stroked faster he figured he should have known he was beyond caring. "He just doesn't like flying."

The man smiled, knowing nothing of what was going on beneath the blanket. "Okay, just let me or another attendant know if you or he need anything." The man walked away right when Nick's breath became ragged. A few moments later, Nick was biting hard into the older man's shoulder and closing his eyes tightly as he came into his Mate's working hands.

Nick panted as he came down from his post-orgasm high. When he was somewhat recovered he glared at Renard who was wiping his hand on some tissues, an innocent expression on his face. Well, as innocent as you can look when you just jacked your Mate off in public.

Scratch that. He didn't look innocent. He looked smug.

Nick wanted to be embarrassed and mortified, but he just couldn't help but start planning all the ways he could get the Royal back. _Wait till the Mayor comes to the Department for his routine check-in. Sean will regret this._ He thought mischievously as he wondered how hard it was to give a blowjob under a police captain's desk.

Nick's eyes began to droop and he soon fell asleep on his captain's bite-covered shoulder, not that the older man minded. Soon, even Renard was falling asleep, his head tilted to the side as he closed his eyes, letting himself fall into a light slumber.

They arrived at the Frankfurt airport a few hours later. As soon as they were off the plane, Wu pulled out his phone and made a call to Adalind and Meisner. Once he got the information he needed, he turned to the group. "Adalind and Meisner are outside. They have two vehicles with them and they will be driving to the estate. There are extra cars at this place but I'm going to have to ask Hank, Juliette, and Nick to refrain from driving, as I'm not entirely comfortable with three people who have never been overseas driving in a foreign country where they don't even speak the language."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Nick said. "The last time I drove, Sean got mad and said I wasn't allowed to."

Renard rolled his eyes. "You almost drove into Monroe's _house,_ Nick."

Monroe yelled in disbelief, _"He almost drove into my house?"_ at the same time Nick said, "In my defense, I thought Rosalie was about to be assassinated."

"That's not a defense, Nick! You almost _drove_ into my _house!_ If you think someone's going to be attacked, you go in quietly! You don't drive at _ninety miles an hour_ into a person's _house!_" Monroe yelled.

Nick turned to Monroe. "But I didn't." He said simply, as if that would fix everything clearly wrong with what he had almost done.

Monroe groaned into Rosalie's shoulder. "I used to say that Nick was going to be the death of me and only kind of mean it. Now? Now, I know. I know for a fact that Nick Burkhardt is going to be the reason I die in the very near future. He's going to drive his beat up truck _into my house _and kill me." He sighed. "I can only pray he doesn't take you too, Rose."

Rosalie patted his back comfortingly, placing a kiss on his cheek. "You're sweet, Monroe," she said with a smile.

They walked out of the airport and towards where Adalind and Meisner said they'd be waiting. "Hey, Grimm. Ready for a road trip?" Adalind smirked.

"Do we seriously have to ride with her?" Nick asked Renard, ignoring the put-off look on the Hexenbiest's face.

"No, Nick. You can ride with whoever you wish. I, on the other hand, am riding in this vehicle." He climbed into the black SUV.

Nick sighed. "Fine." He grumbled before climbing in beside the older man.

Adalind made a mock gagging noise. "You follow him around like a love-sick puppy. Why do you let him do that again, Renard?"  
>Renard growled low. "Do not speak to my Mate that way. I've tolerated it to a point but rest assured I will not allow you to speak to him in such a manner any longer."<p>

"Don't listen to him, Adalind," Nick explained. "He's just grumpy because he woke up in a strange position and now his neck hurts."

Renard's growl only got louder, but he didn't retaliate against the smaller man next to him.

Adalind just shook her head in disbelief. "I don't understand how you can blatantly insult Renard _in his face_ and still live to tell about it. He's got you wrapped around his finger."

Nick glared at her. "I'm not controlling him in any way. He just likes me more than you."

"Yeah, because you grace him with regular sex."

Nick blushed, but still retorted with, "Is that why Meisner likes you more?"

Adalind laughed. "Probably."

Renard listened to the exchange, not sure whether they were verbally attacking each other or just talking. He'd never been one for modern slang, but "frienemies" seemed like a very fitting term here. Also, he thought about what Meisner and Adalind would be like as a couple. He wasn't sure if they were an actual couple right now or just having sex on a regular basis. He didn't take Meisner or Adalind for the "settling down" types, but there was always a first time for everything.

It really was a road trip. They were driving for almost three hours before they finally reached their destination. They said it was a safe house, but it was honestly a castle. The place was massive. Nick wondered who owned this place and was allowing them to stay here. He'd have to thank them.

"Sean, this place is huge! Someone has to know it's here and could therefore be watching it. That's not a very safe house!"

Renard chuckled. "Don't worry, Nick. This place is safe. I promise."

"How do you know?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because it's mine."

Honestly, Nick needed to stop being surprised by what came out of his Mate's mouth. "Oh."

Once inside, Nick fully took in the grandeur of the place. It looked practically Medieval on the outside, but on the inside it was very modern.

Monroe whistled low. "This is a sweet place. And it's right outside of Baden-Baden."

"Baden-Baden?" Nick, Juliette, and Hank asked at the same time.

"Oh, you uncultured imbeciles!" Monroe mocked. "Baden-Baden is a pretty large tourist attraction. It's got these sweet Roman bathhouses in it that you can use. It's pretty nice, though, since we're staying along the edge of the Black Forest, we should've stayed near Furtwangen. There's Clock Museum there and I've always wanted to go. I hear they have this new clock called the…"

As Monroe rambled about clocks, Nick turned to Renard, smiling. "He's so cute when he rambles."

Renard growled possessively. Nick wasn't sure how he knew it was a possessive growl. They all sounded the same, but he could hear the possessiveness in the growl as if Renard has just said, "Mine," and wrapped his arms around his waist.

Nick patted the Royal's shoulder softly. "Don't be so insecure, Sean. You know you're the only one for me."

The Prince still pulled his Mate into a long kiss in front of Monroe, however, just to be sure the Blutbad and Nick knew who belonged to who.

Juliette finally broke. She couldn't keep in her excitement for her closest friend. Once Renard had released Nick, Juliette just wrapped him in a hug. "Juliette?" Nick asked.

"I'm happy for you, Nick. I really am."

Nick's expression softened. Juliette had always been the one who worried about him when he was in college. She was like his sister and his mother wrapped in one. She was the only one who was ever there for him when he lived with Marie. He returned the embrace fully. "I'm happy for you, too. Just let Hank know that if he tries to make you his fifth divorce I'll kill him."

Juliette nodded. "Don't worry. I will." She pulled away and said, "Redhead, remember? Fiery temper and all that?"

Nick winced at the memories. "An understatement of the century, if I ever heard one."

Renard wasn't normally this overprotective, but he was exhausted and his neck really did hurt. So, when Nick said what he said about Monroe, he knew he overreacted but his nerves were frayed. He never liked planes. He was around when they were invented so needless to say he didn't like them. It made him uneasy to know that planes evolved from the most unstable invention that was put together by glorified farmers.

He didn't care that he was probably being petulant and rude, but he grabbed Nick and started walking down a hall with the Grimm in tow. Nick gave an apologetic smile to the group as Renard practically dragged him away and yelled for Meisner to show them to their rooms.

Once in the room, Nick turned on Renard. "What the Hell was that about?" He said angrily. His anger quickly dissipated when he took in the Royal's exhausted countenance. "Never mind," he said, shaking his head. "Let's just get you to bed."

Their bags were, not surprisingly, already in the room, so Nick went over and grabbed Renard's sleep clothes. After sleeping with the man for three months, he learned that Renard did not like to wear shirts when he slept. It worked out perfectly for Nick, as he preferred to wear just that. So, Nick and Renard stripped to their underwear before pulling on their respective clothing items. Renard wore a pair of old Portland PD sleep pants while Nick took the Royal's dress shirt he had been wearing previously. It draped over his smaller frame helplessly, but Nick still wore it for multiple reasons. One, the Royal had comfortable shirts that always kept him warm. Two, it smelled like his Mate and Nick found a huge comfort in that. The main reason, however, was simply because he knew Renard found comfort in their mingling scents.

Renard watched his Mate undress, following the lines of the now-healed markings as the smaller man's body moved to undress. They read and reread every book they had for weeks and they still couldn't find anything even remotely similar to the designs that covered Nick's flesh. It unnerved him, to say the least, though, he didn't think they were dangerous. The burns didn't appear until after the incident with the keys. He highly doubted that Philipp Grimm purposely intended to kill his descendant. They still weren't sure what it did, but he was almost certain it wouldn't do anything harmful.

Climbing into the large poster bed, Renard pulled Nick close to him, inhaling the familiar scents. He was worried how the next few weeks would turn out. When he explained to Nick why they needed to go to Germany, the Grimm seemed worried.

Three Months Ago

"Sean! For the last time! Why are we going to Germany? What's got you so scared?" Nick asked. Honestly, he was scared, too. He didn't know what was going through his Mate's head. Nick winced, gasping out a cry when he moved to quickly and the burns were jarred.

Renard turned to Nick. "Nick, please. Lay down. I'll take care of this. You need to heal."

Nick shook his head. "No. I'm not doing shit until you tell me what's going on."

Renard growled dangerously as his Mate challenged him. Nick, though Renard could clearly see the Grimm was having a hard time standing upright, stood his ground. The Royal within never liked to swallow his pride, but his Mate was in pain and sick. Mates always come first. "Fine, but please, Nick. Sit down at least."

Nick nodded slowly, limping over to the bed. "Now, what's wrong? Why Germany?"

"The map. We need to get to that location before my family finds out about it."

"Why?" Nick said, straight and to the point.

Renard rubbed his eyes. "When I was a child, my mother and I were on the run from my father. At this point we were in the Black Forest in Germany somewhere around the 1760's. She used to tell me this story she called The Veil. It was about a Hexenbiest and a Witch who fell in love, but a human saw the true form of the Hexenbiest and was terrified and ended up killing the Hexenbiest. In revenge, the Witch shrouded the human race with a spell cast upon his dead wife's wedding veil, shrouding the humans from being able to see the wesen for all eternity."

"I kind of see where you're going with this, but you're going to have to elaborate a little more." Nick said, intrigued.

"She used to also tell me that the spirit of the Witch still lurked in the place of his wife's grave. I thought she was telling me a joke when she told me that lore pointed the Hexenbiest's grave to be in the Black Forest. My mother would end it by saying that only those who are led by the Witch can find grave.

"I think the map is where the grave is, Nick."

Nick blinked. "You think the story is true?"

"It's the only thing I have to go on." He said. "I know there's not a lot of evidence, but I…" He trailed off, not sure how to word what he wanted to say. "I need something to focus on, I guess. I can't just sit here and watch you suffer without doing whatever I can to find an answer."

Nick's expression softened. "Sean…"

Renard shook his head. "Nick, let me do this."

Nick didn't want Renard to go on a wild goose chase but, honestly, his story might have some truth. They didn't have much to go on except for a map. Even if The Veil was just a fairy tale, the map still led to the Black Forest in Germany. So, Nick agreed. "Okay, but why did I need to tell everyone else so suddenly that they need to pack for Germany? Why not just us?"

Renard looked down. "I can't lose you, Nick. I will do everything in my power to protect you, and if that means putting my pride aside and letting others help me protect you, then that's what I'll do. I also know you trust them and they would want to know firsthand what was going on."

Nick smiled. "It's okay to admit they're your friends, too. At least Hank. You know Hank. He works with you."

"Hank works _for_ me. It's different."

Nick tapped his chin with his finger. "Are you sure? Because you're sleeping with someone who works for you, unless the other night was merely a pleasant dream I'm recalling rather vividly." Nick smirked when Renard rolled his eyes. "Eye rolling is not very dignified for a Prince now, is it?" Nick laughed.

"It is when you have a smartass for a Mate." The Royal deadpanned. "Now lay down with me. We need to sleep."

Present

Renard still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to come here, but his gut was telling him to come. He didn't have anything except a gut feeling and a feeling was better than sitting in Portland with no answers to the questions he had running through his head. Before closing his eyes and going to sleep, he placed one final kiss onto Nick's forehead. The Grimm had long fallen asleep, so he probably didn't hear it when Renard whispered, "I love you, Nick," before finally caving to sleep.

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><p><strong>Adalind is so awesome. I love her! I know I've said that, but it has to be said. <strong>


	7. Grimm's Wife

**This was a fun Chapter to write!**

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><p>Renard's eyes shot open when he heard the man next to him gasp for air. The Grimm sat up, his body glazed with sweat and shaking from his ragged breaths. "Nick?" Renard asked tentatively, his voice raspy from lack of use.<p>

Nick rubbed his face, trying to wipe those horrid images from his mind. But he couldn't. Every time he blinked, that woman's bloodied, beaten body lying on the ground. Then, out of nowhere, he heard someone call his name. He figured it was Renard, so he answered, "Yeah, Sean?"

But, at the same time Renard asked if he was alright, another voice said his name once more. "Nick."

A sudden movement made him turn towards the door. Standing there, clear as day, was that woman from his dreams. The moment he looked into her eyes he felt it. The compulsion. He had to follow her. He needed to know what happened to her. As if in a trance, he stood and followed the woman towards and out the door.

Meanwhile, Renard was calling for his Mate, but the man either wasn't listening to him or couldn't hear him. He feared it was the latter. Either way, he had to follow Nick. Wherever he was going he knew he couldn't let Nick go in alone.

An absurd thought crossed his mind. It was the memory of his mother's story. _Only those who are led by the Witch can find the grave._ With that in mind, he got out of bed and followed Nick outside of the safe house and into the Black Forest, hoping nothing bad happened to them while they were out.

With Nick's luck, however, they would probably die out there.

They walked for almost an hour before Nick stopped. He turned to back to Renard, a worried expression on his face as he stared at him. "Nick?" He called again.

But the Grimm wasn't listening. His eyes began to follow something Renard couldn't see. "Who did this to you?" Nick asked.

Renard thought he was talking to him. Confused by the question, he asked, "Nick, what are you talking about? No one did anything to me."

But again Nick wasn't listening. "You're the Hexenbiest, aren't you? You're the Hexenbiest from the story, right? You came to me because you saw that I knew the story." Renard watched as Nick's brow furrowed. "How did you know that?" A pause, and Nick laughed. "That guy was Philipp? He's got quite the beard, doesn't he?"

Renard snorted indignantly. Only Nick could have a conversation with a ghost and laugh about his ancestor's beard with said ghost.

Nick's pose tensed. "No. He can stay. I don't care if you don't trust him, but I do." Another pause, and Nick really looked at him for the first time that night. "Yeah, I do. With everything that I am."

Renard suddenly really wanted to hear the other side of the conversation.

When Nick's face turned bright red, Renard was silently begging to hear what was being said. "Y-yeah… We do… But that doesn't matter. The point is I want him to hear this. I want him to know firsthand. He's my Mate. He deserves to know."

Nick glared at whoever he was speaking to. "Yes, I know he's a Royal, but what happened between Philipp and the Royals happened a long time ago." A pause, and Nick's expression grew more frustrated. "I know how the Royals are today, but you have to trust me. Sean isn't like that. He's different. He's… Well, he's Sean. If you knew him, you'd understand." Nick smiled at his feet at that. His head turned back to the mystery ghost and he said, "If you're really so against him hearing this, I'll ask him to leave, but I'll just tell him everything as soon as I get back." Nick said honestly.

A final pause and Nick smiled triumphantly. "He won't. I promise. Thank you so much."

Suddenly, a blinding light flashed and in front of the Royal and the Grimm stood a woman that Renard recognized from old paintings in his father's home.

"You're Philipp Grimm's wife." Renard said in astonishment. Suddenly, pieces of his mother's tale started to fit in with history. The spell that was cast in the aftermath of the war was "The Veil." After the war was finished, Renard knew of stories about Philipp Grimm, but nothing more was said about his wife. "You were killed in the war, weren't you?"

She nodded. "Your story was a little off," she explained. "The Veil wasn't cast over my wedding veil. It was cast over my grave. I also wasn't killed by a human. I was killed by the wesen King, your ancestor."

"Is that where we are, then? Your grave?" Renard asked.

Nick nodded. "She led me here."

"Why?" Renard asked.

"Simple," she began as she walked around them. "I want him to release the Veil."

Nick blinked. "I can't!" He said frantically.

"Why not?" She said angrily. "I've been stuck here for over a thousand years! I want to move on!"

Nick looked away. "Humans aren't as accepting of things as they used to be. They won't be very receptive to being able to see wesen. Hell, I'm I Grimm and I wasn't ready."

"Not my problem." She said simply.

Nick glared menacingly. "Not your problem? Your husband did this to save humanity and wesen alike and all you can say is _'not my problem?'_ How inconsiderate can you be?!"

"Inconsiderate?!" She laughed. "How would you feel if you were stuck on Earth for over a thousand years without a bit of human interaction? You know, that's not even my problem! My problem is that I was going to have eternity with my Mate and that was taken from me by an unfortunate side effect of his spell! So forgive me for not really caring about humanity and wesen alike!"

The Grimm was silent for a long moment, considering this. "I would do it if I had to. It wouldn't be about me in that case."

She snorted. "I can truly tell you are a descendant of my husband, what with that self-sacrificing attitude of yours. Well, Grimm. Hexenbiests are very different. You should know that we are selfish by nature. In fact, you should definitely know that, considering you have a half-Zauberbiest as a Mate."

Nick chuckled. "I do know that."

Renard just glared.

The Grimm's expression changed. "What can I do to keep the Veil in place but still allow you to move on?" He asked. "If it's attached to your grave, can't I move the attachment?"

She nodded. "You catch on quickly, but that kind of magick takes a lot of power and an object that can take it. It can't just be something you pick off the ground."

Nick nodded and Renard could see the gears turning in his head. "I've got both of those covered."

She nodded. "Then return when you are prepared. Come at night. It will better hide your activities."

"Are you sure you'll be alright alone again?" Nick asked.

"I've been here for a long time. A few more nights won't hurt me."

Nick nodded. "Okay. Thanks, by the way, for trusting Sean."

She turned to the Royal. "I don't trust Royals, but I do trust the Grimms. Now go. It's almost daylight."

At that, she disappeared and Renard was left staring at Nick in astonishment. "Seriously?" He said. "You attracted the dead ghost of Philipp Grimm's wife?"

Nick smiled sheepishly. "Technically this was your fault. You're the one who told me the story."

They began to walk back to the safe house in silence. Renard was the first to break it. "So, you want to tell me what she said that got you flustered like that?"

Nick blushed. "No."

Renard smirked. "Now I'm curious."

A voice echoed around them, and Renard knew he must've won the silent approval of Grimm's wife. "He was embarrassed by admitting to hot sex with you. He also said he loves you with everything he is."

Nick's eyes widened, telling Renard he heard it too. Once outside the forest the Royal pushed Nick against wall of the safe house and attacked his lips. "Sean!" He cried out when the larger man's fangs reopened the scarred mark on his smaller Mate's neck by biting down.

Renard looked up into Nick's eyes, who was watching him with lust and curiosity. Nick watched as his blood dripped from Renard's lips, making him look the part of the predator. The Grimm pressed his lips to the blood-covered ones of his Mate, tasting to coppery liquid as he did so. Pulling away for just a moment, Renard got a good look at Nick once more. His neck was bleeding from the bite and his lips were covered in his own blood. It was a purely erotic site for the Royal and Nick knew it. The Grimm had to know because the larger man was practically dragging him back into the forest before he slammed him up against the nearest tree and claimed his lips once more.

It didn't take long before their clothes were on the ground, long forgotten. While Renard stripped him, he briefly realized he had stood in front of the ghost of his ancestor's wife in nothing but Renard's large dress shirt and his boxer briefs, but when his Mate gripped his cock in his large hand, he forgot all about the complaint.

Nick would have been cold as well, but Renard's large, warm body encased him in a fiery heat of both physical temperature and heighted passion.

The Royal stroked the Grimm's hard cock in slow, measured strokes. It was enough to have Nick gasping against his lips and trembling in his arms, but not enough to get him off. When Renard moved to lick at the blood still dripping from the reopened mark, Nick begged, "Please, Sean. I… I need…" He moaned loudly when Renard's thumb dipped into the slit of his leaking member.

Renard's voice was startlingly firm, keeping Nick grounded while he raced towards his high. "What do you need, Nick? Tell me what you want." Renard could make anything sound like an order.

"I-I need y-you."

Renard smirked, knowing what he needed as he could sense it through the Bond, but wanted Nick to say it. "What do you need me to do?"

Even through his dilated, lust-filled gaze Nick glared. "I'm not going to"-

Whatever Nick was going to say was cut off when he cried out. Renard had recently found a sensitive spot just behind his ear and now he was using it to his advantage. The strokes against his cock were making it significantly more difficult to stick with his decision to not beg for Renard.

Of course, his firm resolution went out the window when Renard used his other hand to tease at his entrance. "Fuck!" Nick cried out, his voice higher as he gasped out the word. "Sean, please. I need you. I need you inside me. Please."

Nick felt Renard smirk against his neck as well as the feeling of triumph washing over him through the Bond, but he didn't care. He needed this man and he would take whatever he was willing to give. If that meant he had to plead a little for it then so be it.

He was rewarded when a slick finger breached him. He wondered for a moment when Renard had slicked his fingers, but the merciless movements of his digit inside of him moved that thought to the back and eventually out of his mind.

It didn't take long to prepare him. Three months of daily sex meant Nick could handle more. "Sean, I'm good." He said shakily.

Renard kissed him on the lips before pulling three fingers out of Nick's tight hole, showing he understood. The Royal pulled Nick to the forest floor, knowing that if he pressed Nick against the tree the Grimm would have scratches from the uneven bark.

Nick, in a bold move, flipped them over so Renard was on his back. The Royal growled loudly, not liking the change in position, but before he could return their positions the Grimm was lowering himself onto his cock until he was buried to the hilt inside of him.

They had never been in this position before, but Renard quickly discovered he liked it. He could watch his Mate's expression more closely like this. He saw Nick's face contort with mixed pleasure and pain. Renard had learned of Nick's desire for pain and the sadistic Royal howled in anticipated pleasure at the discovery. The masochist above him started to move almost as soon as he was fully penetrated. Renard watched his expression change drastically in mere moments. He now had this look of ecstasy which was more pronounced with each moan, cry, and gasp. The Grimm had closed his eyes, but the moment he opened them, Renard pulled his Mate down to meet his lips.

The minor shift in position caused Nick to cry a curse and Renard's name, the Royal catching it against his lips. "Fuck, Sean!"

The Royal growled, loving when his Mate screamed out his name. As Nick bounced above him, Renard would meet his downward motion with an upward thrust of his own. Nick screamed when his prostate was grazed, wanting, needing more from the man beneath him. Nick's gaze travelled to his Mate's, seeing the green bleeding into them as well as a swirl of emotions. Lust, desire, and need were prominent, but another emotion Nick couldn't quite place was there as well. He'd never seen someone look at him like that before so he didn't have anything to compare it to. He found it didn't make him uncomfortable. In fact, it drove him closer to the edge.

As they moved together, their emotions flowed back and forth over the Bond, sending shivers down their spines and forcing cries from their mouths. The Bond had significantly intensified sex for them both. Since they could feel what the other was feeling, physical pleasure was heightened as well as the building emotions they had for each other.

Suddenly, the Royal gripped Nick's hips tightly, forcing him to stop his movements. Nick whimpered from the loss of movement, needing to release, but Renard wouldn't let him move. The Grimm had to realize who was in control here. Nick pleaded silently with his eyes to let him move, but the Royal growled, waiting for the smaller man to realize what he was doing. As soon as Nick understood, the Bond helping significantly, he put his hands behind his back and bared his throat. The Royal growled, accepting the submission and grasped his Mate's hands, not allowing him to use them to move his body. Renard used his free hand to hold his hips in place while he thrust into the man above him at a fast pace. "Oh, God, Sean!" Nick cried.

The Royal kept moving in and out of Nick until the man was beyond words. As he moved, the Royal took time in admiring the view. His Mate had his own blood dried across his chest from the bite in his neck. He was covered in a sheen of sweat from head to toe. His eyes were dilated, the silver of the Grimm only a thin ring around the black pupils. He could smell the blood of his Mate rising to the surface of his skin from where he was gripping his wrists and hip hard enough to bruise.

He felt Nick started to tighten around him, so he quickened his pace even more until he sent him over the edge with a final cry of his name. "Sean!"

The clenching and unclenching of his Mate's inner walls, the blissful look on his Mate's face, the way he felt as shown through the Bond, and the smell and sight of his Mate's powerful release on his taut stomach had him thrusting in for a small time afterward before he finally came.

Nick's body was shaking as he leaned down to rest himself into the crook of Renard's shoulder. Whether he was cold or still coming down from his post-orgasm high, the Royal wasn't completely certain. More than likely it was both.

Renard lifted Nick's hips for moment to pull himself out, causing Nick to moan quietly before lowing Nick back down to rest on his body. He pressed a light kiss to the crown of Nick's head before allowing himself to personally enjoy this moment. His Mate was sprawled on his chest looking thoroughly ravished. Their mingled scents created a calming scent that he could have fallen asleep to if they weren't outside where potential threats could harm his Grimm.

It was strange to him sometimes, having a Grimm as a Mate. A Grimm's instincts usually didn't allow for trust on this level. Though Nick probably hadn't considered it, Renard suspected that was why he was a virgin. _Well, before he met me._ Renard smirked inwardly. He was lucky to have Nick as a Mate. He couldn't imagine anyone else in his position.

"What're you thinking about?" Nick asked. "And don't say 'nothing' because I can feel your smugness through the Bond."

Renard chuckled. "I'm just laying here wondering how I managed to get you as a Mate. I must have either done something very right or very wrong in a previous life, depending on how you look at it."

Nick glared at Renard as he sat up, not removing himself from atop the man's larger body. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead. Be a jackass. See if you get sex for a week."

"I'm going to call your bluff and say that you'd never be able to hold out that long." Renard challenged.

"Oh?" Nick raised an eyebrow. They stared at each other before Nick caved. "Okay," he said sheepishly. "You're probably right."

Renard smirked. "I usually am."

They snuck back to their room, hoping no one would hear that they were awake or see their state of undress. They also wanted to have a little more time to themselves before they had to talk business.

Nick was lying on his stomach, laughing at something Renard had said while the Royal had his back against the headboard. They were clothed to a point; Renard had broken the buttons on the shirt Nick was wearing and completely destroyed his boxer briefs, so Nick was completely naked under the silk sheets. Renard was wearing his sleep pants, the only pair of clothing that wasn't destroyed in their encounter.

They were simply lying in bed together, just enjoying each other's company when Nick had to say something. "Hey, Sean?"

"Yeah, Nick?"

Nick's face started to heat up which piqued Renard's curiosity. "Your face only gets that red when it's about sex. Tell me what it is so I can reassure you that you did nothing wrong." Renard smirked devilishly, then, "Unless you want to try something different?"

Nick's face went a darker shade of red, but Renard sensed he was not opposed to what he had in mind, but Nick continued with what he had to ask. "You're not usually the exhibitionist type, so what was that outside earlier?"

Renard tensed a bit. It was a bit embarrassing on his part. "I couldn't wait."

"Wait for what?" Nick asked, his head tilting in curiosity.

Nick, you are either naïve or dense. I'm not certain of which one. "The comment the Hexenbiest made about what you said kind of drove me to it." Renard admitted reluctantly.

"Was it the hot sex comment? Because I can completely understand why you'd jump me over that. We do have hot sex." Nick laughed. When Renard shook his head, Nick asked, "Then which comment was it? The only other thing she really mentioned to you was when I told her that I loved…" He trailed off. "Oh, I get it." His face was burning at the admission.

Renard smiled softly, hoping he could say what he needed to say just right. This was all new to him; he'd never felt this way about anyone in the almost three centuries that he's been alive. "Nick, you have to understand something about me. I need you to hear out the whole thing, okay?" When Nick nodded, he continued. "I've never loved anyone in my entire life. I couldn't allow that kind of weakness in my life, so I never wanted it. If someone found out that I cared about a person enough to love them, that someone could use that to his or her advantage. I couldn't live with that, so I've never allowed love to be a factor in anything I do." Renard could see a look of pained acceptance in his Mate's expression and feel the hurt across the Bond, so Renard forced Nick onto his lap, using his inhuman strength to force the Grimm to straddle him so the Royal could press a gentle, hopefully reassuring kiss to his lips. "But there's something about you, Nick. From the beginning I could sense there was something different about you. Even before you knew of your Grimm heritage – Hell, before I knew about it – I could tell you were different from anyone I'd ever met. I tried to stay away. I tried to stay out of your life because I knew one of us would end up hurt in the end, more than likely you.

"But, even knowing that, I couldn't stay away. I knew I needed you in my life and try as I might I couldn't fight it, so I decided to give in and let this take me down whatever path it decided to take me.

"Now? Now I know that fighting it was pointless. I can't live without you, Nick. I've broken a lot of personal rules for you, one of which was letting myself get close to you even though I said I wouldn't give in. I've even helped you when it was against wesen laws to help a Grimm. Now that I think of it, I'm certain that the moment I met you, my rules went out the window. You rewrote my whole damn rule book.

"So when I say I'm not allowed to love anyone, that's because I'm trying to hold onto old rules that don't even exist anymore. I guess what I'm trying to say in this long, terrible speech is that you've changed me into a better person and a better ruler. There's no one I'd rather break the rules with. Besides, what's one more broken rule from a book that doesn't exist anymore?"

Renard took a breath, his speech almost coming to an end. "I love you, Nick Burkhardt. Don't ever think that I don't."

Renard had been absentmindedly tracing his fingers along the marks on Nick's skin during the speech which added a little personal comfort knowing that his Mate hadn't run off. He took this moment to really look at Nick and gauge his reaction.

The Grimm's eyes were wide open, tears threatening to fall. His breathing was picking up, trying to fight the emotional overflow threatening to happen. He didn't know what to do. He knew he loved Renard, so why couldn't he say it back? He admitted it to a dead Hexenbiest, for Christ's sake, so why couldn't he admit it to Renard in person?

He searched his brain for something, anything, and when he found the right answer it scared him. He knew he loved Renard. He knew that with absolute certainty. However, no one had ever told him that they loved him before. He thought back throughout his life and he couldn't honestly remember anyone telling him this. His own mother never said it and what he could remember of his father was limited as Reed Burkhardt was always at work.

So if no one had ever told him they loved him, how would he know for certain that he loved Renard?

Renard was too good for Nick; the Grimm had known this for a while. Nick knew Renard could do better than him. He was a broken mess while the Royal practically secreted perfection. How could he not be a mess when he didn't even know what love was? Renard didn't need that kind of insecurity. Renard deserved better.

Suddenly Nick got up from his position, grabbed some clothes, and ran, leaving Renard to wonder what he had done wrong.

Nick was walking for several hours around the tourist city of Baden-Baden before he decided to turn around. It took him a while to come to terms with what Renard had said. The man loved him. Sean Renard loved _him._ It was a hard thing to grasp, but the man had proven it on more than one occasion. Nick wasn't sure if he loved Renard, but he wanted to work with the Royal to figure it out. _Hopefully he won't be too mad at me for running off…_ He thought miserably. By now he was certain Renard was royally pissed, not knowing where he was.

So, he started his long trek back to the house. He was on a barren, back road when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to stick up. He turned, thinking someone was following him. He stood there for a moment before shrugging, seeing no one was there. He turned back around and was going to continue walking, but a large frame tackled him and he fell.

In Nick's hazy vision he saw two other figures come behind him. _Do Mouvais Dentes travel in threes?_ Nick wondered, remembering the attack on Rosalie as he fought to gain some footing, but the creature had him well pinned. He decided to try a punch and he connected successfully, he noted with a smirk. However, when he got up the other two attacked him with two powerful fists and he was down, gasping for air that wouldn't stay in his lungs. When the air returned to him – albeit pained from his now-bruised ribs – he asked, "Who sent you?" He already knew, but he had to be sure.

"You'll be meeting him shortly, Grimm." One of them growled out. "But he did say we could take you by any means necessary. I think if we roughed you up a little he won't be too mad, right?" He smirked, then motioned to the other two to charge Nick, saying something in German in the process.

Nick glared, trying his hardest not to show his fear, and got up to fight. He knew he couldn't run; he didn't know the area at all. So he fought. From the constant training he had with Adalind and Renard, he was pretty adept at using his magick. He reached into his core, using his magick to create a shield that would appear when he raised his hand. He waited for the perfect opportunity to use the spell he'd practiced time and time again.

Nick wasn't very good at using more offensive magick like Adalind was, but he could create impenetrable shields. He'd been using his defensive abilities to turn them more offensive. When the three assassins went to strike at the same time, Nick smirked, knowing he had them. He broke the shield, creating shards that would pierce even the thickest flesh. When they attacked, they all ran their bodies into what would feel like knives. They collapsed in a bloodied heap in front of Nick.

The Grimm was going to run, knowing he had to get to Renard fast, as he'd been spotted and these bodies needed to be taken care of, but he suddenly couldn't move as a large blade was being pressed against his throat. "Hello, Grimm."

Nick was going to struggle against whoever was behind him, but the creature stopped him. "I wouldn't move against the blade too much. There's a special… ingredient in this blade that we've designed to kill Grimms. If it cuts you, you'll die within days. It's expensive, but definitely worth the price on your head."

"Reaper?" Nick questioned. The Royal family sure had a lot of friends.

But the Reaper ignored him. He just answered his phone, saying something in German over the line. When he hung up, he said, "Let's go for a ride, shall we?"

Nick was dragged to a van where the several other Reapers were waiting for him with chains. "Chains? Really?" Nick said sarcastically.

The Reapers smirked. "Not just any chains. These chains can contain a Hexenbiest, so they should work well on you."

Nick tried to struggle, but the blade against his neck was very threatening. So he walked silently to the van while they put these chains against the skin of his arms and ankles. The moment they were closed around his flesh Nick cried out. The chains felt like acid against his skin. "Oh, did we forget to mention that it stings a little?" The main Reaper chuckled.

He forced himself not to make any more pained noises. It hurt like Hell but he kept still, not giving his captors the satisfaction of his suffering. "I'm not going to tell you anything." He spat through gritted teeth.

The Reaper looked pensive. "You don't need to tell us anything. Our job is to hand you to the Royals. We're doing our part."

Nick just sat in silence. He vowed to his silence. He would not say a single word until he saw his Mate again. He just hoped Renard could find him.

Sean, I think I'm in over my head here… I need you… Nick could feel the panic rising in his heart as his energy was drained from his core through the chains. He didn't want to close his eyes, but it seemed to be more and more appealing as they drove. As his mind slowly drifted to unconsciousness, the last voice he heard was the Reaper Groupie leader saying, "Sleep Tight."

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><p><strong>I hope you guys and gals liked my gift... I didn't know what to do. I want to thank my reviewers and all of those who read it. You've all been really supportive, so I wanted to take the extra time to write these three chapters so I could give you all a bunch! Happy Holidays! I hope your New Year's was filled with lots of fun andor alcohol!**


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